Letter to Southwest Power Pool's Board of Directors

Letter

Governor Parkinson urges Southwest Power Pool to make
transmission project in Kansas a priority

To ensure the continued progress and development of renewable energy in the Midwest, Governor Mark Parkinson sent a letter to the Board of Directors of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), urging that they reinstate the V-Plan transmission venture to its list of priority projects. The SPP Strategic Planning Committee did not include the V-Plan in its most recent list of priority projects. The Board of Directors meets on October 27 to review the list of priority projects.

The V-Plan is a 200-mile, 765kV transmission project that will run from Spearville to Wichita and connect with another transmission line running into Oklahoma. The project will establish a critical link between the eastern and western portions of Kansas, while increasing the reliability of electricity services and utilizing the enormous wind energy potential in the state. Moreover, the V-Plan is a crucial investment in developing a super regional transmission system to bring renewable energy to the entire midwest region.

Below is the text of the letter sent by Governor Parkinson to the Southwest Power Pool's Board of Directors:

Dear Board of Directors:

Thirteen months ago, then-Governor Sebelius and I wrote to you expressing our state's support and appreciation for your work recognizing transmission as the linchpin for future wind resource development in Kansas and the rest of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) footprint. To that end, the Cost Allocation Working Group (CAWG) has proposed a highway-byway plan that will support the build-out of high voltage transmission projects. As I said then, I appreciate the work of SPP and the CAWG committee on this vital initiative.

The Kansas wind industry is one of the fastest growing in the nation. We are only the 7th state to achieve 1,000 MW of installed wind generation, a significant milestone. The main roadblock for further expansion is the availability of transmission capacity. The 200-mile 765kV V-Plan is designed to unlock Kansas's tremendous wind reserves, while linking the western and eastern portion of our state. The V-Plan will allow power to flow more efficiently and reliably across the state and region. This critical project is a cooperative effort among several utilities, with strong local support. The state is eagerly awaiting the project's construction.

As important as this project is both locally and regionally, I was surprised to learn the V-Plan was not included in the preliminary list of priority projects recently approved by the strategic planning committee. It is my understanding that the strategic planning committee recommended further study and analysis of the V-Plan. While I understand the need for thorough study, the benefits of this project have been well-documented and it has ranked high on the SPP priority project list for some time. With Congress considering a national renewable energy standard, I am concerned that any delay in this project may restrict our entire region's ability to provide an important energy source to the nation.

I have regularly applauded SPP for its visionary work to design and implement a transmission grid that increases reliability, transmits power more efficiently and allows for all SPP states to develop their vast wind resources. Given the importance of the V-Plan project to the states in the Southwest Power Pool, I am hopeful the Board of Directors will include it on the final list of priority projects when they meet on October 27 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I appreciate your support of this project and the development of clean, renewable energy in our region.

Sincerely,

Governor Mark Parkinson

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