Two utilities – MDU and Otter Tail – are now working on a high-voltage power line between Ellendale and Jamestown.
It’s a 95 mile, 345 kilovolt line.
MDU Spokesman Mark Hanson said what’s driving it is wind power.
"That southeast portion of North Dakota has some constraints on the transmission side," Hanson said. "It's a pretty popular and productive area for wind production."
But Hanson said there are some wind power facilities there that can't operate because of those constraints.
"And there are a number of wind projects in the queue," Hanson said. "So this will help alleviate some of that constraint."
MISO — the Midwest Independent System Operator — has approved the power line project.
Hanson said the two utilities have started holding public meetings on the “JETX” project. And he said the plan is to have the line in-service by 2028.
