BPA plans $246 million construction project

The Bonneville Power Administration said today it will convert new borrowing authority contained in President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package to launch a $246 million construction project that could create 700 jobs. The project, a transmission line that would run through Washington parallel to the Columbia River, has already completed environmental review, BPA said in a press release. When energized in late 2012, the line will be able to carry 870 megawatts of electricity, including service for more than 700 megawatts of new wind energy. Work on the project is expected to begin this spring. BPA received an additional $3.25 billion in borrowing authority from the U.S. Treasury for capital projects like the transmission line. The line will run from BPA’s McNary Substation in Oregon, cross the Columbia River and run parallel to the river for 75 miles, then cross back again into Oregon at BPA’s John Day Substation, according to the release.