A proposed high-voltage transmission line that had come under fire from central Texas landowners will be rerouted, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) has reaffirmed.
The Bluff Creek to Brown transmission line – a major transmission project for wind energy that terminates just south of Abilene – originally would have sliced through 10 private rural ranches and farms owned by members of the Heart of Texas Landowners' Coalition, which was represented by Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend PC.
The coalition demonstrated during PUC proceedings that the originally proposed transmission route did not fit well with the agency's routing criteria and was contrary to the community values of the affected area.
The PUC is expected to receive additional applications next week for more wind energy-related transmission projects. In one case, an approximately 30-mile line will be proposed for Tarrant, Parker, Denton and Wise counties. In another, an approximately 70-mile line will be proposed just northwest of Abilene, in Kent, Dickens and Scurry counties.
As part of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone process for wind energy, the PUC will continue routing high-voltage transmission lines throughout rural Texas for the remainder of the year.
SOURCE: Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend PC
