Brandon Sun - ONLINE EDITION
Hydro picks its west side route
Proposed route (HANDOUT)
Manitoba Hydro’s massive new transmission line will skirt several parks and First Nations Reserves but run through hundreds of miles of private farm land.
About a third of the 1,350-kilometre route will tower over private land, and Hydro is now beginning negotiations with farmers and ranchers over compensation.
Download
A pdf copy of the route map
After months of public consultations, Hydro this morning picked its favourite of three main routes down the province’s west side.
The route will run from dams in northeastern Manitoba, past Thompson and The Pas, to the east of the Porcupine Forest Reserve and the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and then hug the western shores of Lake Manitoba
Near the town of St. Claude, it will take a sharp turn east and run south of Niverville and loop around Winnipeg’s east side, stopping at a new converter station.
The total cost of the line is $2.2 billion, far more than a line down the east side of Lake Winnipeg which many critics favour as a cheaper, faster and more efficient route.
Another round of public consultations will happen before Hydro finalizes the route and applies for an environmental licence.
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98 Comments
Posted by:Rural Manitoba
July 31, 2010 at 7:36 AM
BrianOakely
You've stated many times the best reason to go west was to avoid lawsuits.
Now it looks like that's going to happen regardless.
You just seem to like wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere.
Another misguided urbanite NDPer...
Posted by:JustWondering
July 30, 2010 at 8:22 PM
BrianOakely: "Like what? So they sue. Whatayagonnado?
What's their claim? What do they want?
Help me out here. dish, dish, dish, my friend.
You're not giving me much to work with."
Considering how many opinions you have it seems you really don't know much about the issues. Can't imagine what the people on the west side might want? Probably the same thing the people on the east side want. If you're half as bright as you think you should be able to take it from here. Good luck.
Posted by:BrianOakely
July 30, 2010 at 3:17 PM
"Rural Manitoba", my friend,
You state, "amd now the First Nations in the west are planning to sue.
where are you now Brian Oakely?"
mk
I'm right here.
And you are where? .........
Like what? So they sue. Whatayagonnado?
What's their claim? What do they want?
Help me out here. dish, dish, dish, my friend.
You're not giving me much to work with.
Posted by:Manawakian
July 30, 2010 at 11:39 AM
Bipoles I & II run down the west side of Lake Winnipeg. A line on the east side of the lake would almost certainly not be affected by any natural disaster on the opposite side of this large body of water and vice-versa.
Minnesota already uses power transmitted in part through Bipoles I & II which have more or less the same effect on the environment as will Bipole III regardless of the route selected.
Anyone looking at the map showing the proposed western route of Bipole III who cannot see what a monumentally stupid idea this is, needs to remove their NDP blinders.
Posted by:
July 30, 2010 at 11:03 AM
The Conservatives have finally found themselves a election issue that will guarantee they are in power in October 2011. Why the NDP want to waste billions of dollars that could be spent on social programming, health care, and policing is beyond me. So not only will the Conservatives win the 2011 election, but the line will go down the east side in the end. Why the NDP want to meet this fate I don't know.
Posted by:Rural Manitoba
July 30, 2010 at 10:08 AM
amd now the First Nations in the west are planning to sue.
where are you now Brian Oakely?
Posted by:BrianOakely
July 30, 2010 at 10:02 AM
"Dubious", myfriend,
You must think beyond pawn to king four.
Consider.
You claim that Minnesota currently gets 50% of it's power from coal. You then hold this up as evidence that Minnesota is only paying lip-service to the criteria required to received permission to import power.
They're not buying Slurpee's here.
The time scale on which one measures the creation of infrastructure required to generate and transmit power is decades. Not years, months, days, week, hours, or seconds - decades.
Ok, maybe years. Regardless, have you considered that one of the reasons why they are looking to Manitoba for imports is beacuse it is not coal and they would like to move to a clean and renewable form of energy?
Further, if it becomes an "saw off" in terms of damage to the environment, then they will just stick with coal? or move to nuclear?
As we all know, in the super-duper-mega-hyper-partisian world of American politics, a good lobbyist with a suitcase full of cash can make the 50 yard line look like 3rd and inches.
Posted by:wpgyouth
July 29, 2010 at 10:57 PM
The major reason for even building Bipole III is reliability.
Right now Bipoles I & II are both traveling down the east side very close to each other, and end at Dorsey Converter Station in Rosser. If something were to happen to Bipoles I & II (ice storm, tornado, forest fire, etc) it would knock out all of the power we're getting from the dams up north, which make up a huge portion of Manitoba's power being generated.
If Bipole III were to be built down the east as well, then ALL THREE would have the chance of being knocked out at the same time.
Posted by:wpgyouth
July 29, 2010 at 10:57 PM
The major reason for even building Bipole III is reliability.
Right now Bipoles I & II are both traveling down the east side very close to each other, and end at Dorsey Converter Station in Rosser. If something were to happen to Bipoles I & II (ice storm, tornado, forest fire, etc) it would knock out all of the power we're getting from the dams up north, which make up a huge portion of Manitoba's power being generated.
If Bipole III were to be built down the east as well, then ALL THREE would have the chance of being knocked out at the same time.
Posted by:Ed Anger
July 29, 2010 at 10:48 PM
look what happens to cottagers every couple of years when built on native lands. Its far cheaper in the long run to pay more upfront on crown and private land then get nickle dimed for 40 years with threats of boycotts vandalism, re-negotiations etc. This is the smart decision given the options and political realities.
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