Building the infrastructure that connects people to clean renewable energy

MCEA knows that you can’t build clean, renewable wind projects if you can’t move that electricity to where people can use it. That’s why we work with the renewable energy industry to build the transmission infrastructure needed to ensure that we can move clean electricity to market.

Currently, the most likely alternative to wind and solar power is usually gas power plants. In many ways, we’re faced with a choice between pipelines that move dirty fossil fuels like gas and oil and transmission lines that move clean energy like wind and solar. We choose clean energy, and we back infrastructure projects that make it possible. 

The Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line connects Iowa’s rich wind resources with population centers in Wisconsin. It’s a win/win, since Iowa needs greater transmission capacity to continue to build wind projects, and Wisconsin has lagged behind the rest of the Midwest in providing access to clean energy for its residents. MCEA represents ourselves and our clients Clean Grid Alliance and Fresh Energy in the legal and regulatory proceedings to approve Cardinal-Hickory Creek in Wisconsin and Iowa. 

Why do Minnesota clean energy groups care about Iowa and Wisconsin? Because we are all part of the same electrical grid system, called MISO (Midcontinent Independent Service Operator). The rapid expansion of wind projects in the Midwest has strained the ability of existing service lines to move the electricity they create. If we don’t modernize that transmission infrastructure, we will soon be unable to build more clean energy, and we need to make a transition to carbon-free electricity as soon as possible.   

In June 2020, the Iowa Utilities Board approved the Iowa portion of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek line, giving the line all of the state approvals needed to begin construction. We continue to work on this case, as appeals of the approvals continue in state and federal courts.