Work on Illinois’ Spoon River Transmission Line completed

Spanning 44 miles and providing 345,000 volts, the Spoon River Transmission Project in Illinois has completed construction and begun providing greater reliability to the state’s energy grid.

With $130 million invested into the project, it came in under budget and, perhaps more importantly to consumers, nine months ahead of schedule. Over the course of construction, Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI) built two substations and installation of a new transmission line. Helic

“The speed and efficiency with which this line was developed can be attributed to the ongoing collaboration we had with community members,” Shawn Schukar, chairman and president of ATXI, said. “Because of this input and support, our contract partners were able to quickly move forward on key construction phases, meet crucial deadlines and now energize this important infrastructure project that bolsters the energy grid.”

Construction had followed approval by the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator in 2011 and marks the first of three ATXI projects currently underway in the area. It has expanded access to wind-driven energy–amidst other lower-cost renewables–and increased local and regional transmission capacity. The company also hopes it will improve energy grid reliability for the region and tout its place in Illinois’ Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, which aims to reach 25 percent renewable energy generation by 2025-2026.