Rock Island Clean Line seeks OK to build transmission line

Rock Island Clean Line said today it filed petitions with the Iowa Utilities Board for permission to build an electric transmission line that would funnel wind energy from northwest Iowa to Illinois and states further east.

The $2 billion, 500-mile overhead transmission line has garnered significant opposition across the state, with landowners and lawmakers concerned about the Texas-based company's access to eminent domain powers that can be used to force the sale of property, among other issues.

The project, crossing 16 Iowa counties, is designed to deliver 3,500 megawatts of wind energy to eastern U.S. states. The company said in a statement the project will drive demand for wind turbine components that are manufactured in Iowa and would "generate millions of dollars in state and local tax revenues."

The company said the proposed route results from "more than three years of routing work, during which project representatives met with landowners, environmental agencies, government officials and other stakeholders to gather feedback, collected thousands of routing comments and considered hundreds of different potential routing alternatives."

Rock Island said it's working closely with landowners "and is committed to offering fair compensation for easements and any remediation work that may be required as a result of the construction process."

Rock Island Clean Line is a subsidiary of Clean Line Energy Partners, based in Houston.