PacifiCorp is making plans for a new transmission line reaching between Sweetwater County and Carbon County.
Brian Taylor, the project manager for PacifiCorp and a Green River resident, presented PacifiCorp’s plans for the Gateway D2.2 proposed transmission line to the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners during their Tuesday meeting. Taylor described the project as “a big deal.”
“It’s exciting for me to be here, to work on this project, to be a resident of Green River and Sweetwater County and be a part of this as it happens,” Taylor said.
Rocky Mountain Power is the division of PacifiCorp that provides electricity to Wyoming customers. As a whole company, PacifiCorp is obligated to provide increased capacity as needed and provide safe and reliable electricity to customers. In order to do this, the company does long-term planning. In this process, PacifiCorp has seen a need for expansion projects, such as the Gateway D2.2 project. This type of transmission expansions is needed to continue to allow Wyoming to be an energy exporter and to support business growth and expansion, according to Taylor.
“The last major expansion was more than 30 years ago, so a lot has changed since then, and that’s why we’re here today,” Taylor said.
The Gateway D2.2 project, which is separate from the Gateway West project, involves putting in a new 500 kilovolt AC transmission line. The line is expected to be approximately 143 miles in length, running from the Shirley Basin Substation north of Medicine Bow to the Anticline Substation by the Jim Bridger Power Plant.
“This project will deliver up to 1,100 megawatts of additional power set up to serve existing and new markets and customers,” Taylor explained, saying the intent is to relieve operating limitations, increase capacity and improve reliability.
The project will include upgrades to both substations, plus the addition of a new fiber optic regeneration communication station at approximately the halfway mark, near the county line. Approximately 69 miles of the project will be in Sweetwater County, and it will run through the checkerboard area and be on both private land and Bureau of Land Management land.
The Gateway D2.2 project has already started the design and engineering phase, which should continue through 2025. Construction is scheduled to start in 2026, and service is anticipated for December 2028.
When asked by Commissioner Mary Thoman if the project will be for green energy, Taylor confirmed that it is green energy and is currently slated to be strictly for wind energy.
Chairman Keaton West noted that the proposed route seems to cut through key areas for hunting and wildlife, and Taylor reassured him that there will be an environmental impact statement for the route that will take things like wildlife impact into consideration.
Commissioner Island Richards asked about the expected workforce this project could bring for the area. Taylor replied that he didn’t have an exact estimate on workforce size, but he anticipates the workforce to be “significant,” although it will vary depending on factors like the time of year.
“Good luck, and we’ll be anxious to see the next steps forward,” Chairman West told Taylor.
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