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Construction begins on 3.5 mile FirstEnergy high voltage power line in Ohio’s Trumbull County

Work officially began on a $12 million, 3.5 mile stretch of high voltage power line in Lordstown, Ohio, this week, as the second phase of a FirstEnergy Corp. project to support the growing electric vehicle industry in the region.

The 138-kV line will connect electric substations in the area and bolster the regional transmission system. The backup power feed it will provide could help more than 15,000 customers of Ohio Edison in the region in the event of damaged wires or equipment requiring offline service. It will also assist the expected needs of EV battery-cell manufacturing plant Ultium Cells LLC, a project jointly backed by General Motors and LG Energy Solution. That facility is expected to sprawl over nearly 3 million square feet to house around 1,100 workers.

The line is expected to be in operation sometime early next year.

“FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison continue to play a key role in the region’s development by working to ensure the local power grid is ready to support the demands of Ultium Cells LLC and other energy-intensive customers in the region,” Ed Shuttleworth, president of FirstEnergy’s Ohio operations, said. “We’re proud to support work to help advance business development in the region while strengthening our system to meet the growing demand for safe and reliable power for many years to come.”

The $12 million line project is merely one phase of ongoing work, though. All told, these efforts to better service Ultium Cells LLC and the surrounding areas should reach nearly $20 million of investment and include a new transmission substation, automated technology, and equipment, as well as another short, high-voltage power line.

However, for current work, efforts will be taken to minimize the impact on local communities and the environment. FirstEnergy noted that the new line will use existing steel towers along its transmission corridors, although the remaining work will require additional steel and wood structures to support.

Chris Galford

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