Late this summer, the Financial Times-London spent a day with Dairyland EVP/COO Ben Porath, representatives from ITC Midwest and the Clean Grid Alliance to discuss the need for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line. The feature story, which focuses on permitting challenges and Cardinal-Hickory Creek's importance for reliability and supporting regional clean energy transition goals, has been released and is linked here. The interviews were conducted adjacent to a portion of the project site (Cassville, Wis.). 

Cover photo: Transmission infrastructure at the Mississippi River crossing across from Cassville. The selected route will reduce environmental impacts in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge because the project will relocate and remove existing transmission infrastructure. Specifically, we will co-locate (or “double-circuit”) the existing 161-kV line that currently crosses the Refuge with the new 345-kV Cardinal-Hickory Creek line. Upon completion of construction, the existing 69-kV line that currently crosses the Refuge will be de-energized and removed.

Did you know? Cardinal-Hickory Creek is the essential bridge that enables renewable energy to be brought to market, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. Currently, there are 161 projects in Wisconsin and four other states representing more than 17 gigawatts of renewable energy dependent upon its construction – enough to power millions of homes with clean energy. Construction of the Cardinal-Hickory project is largely complete in Wisconsin and Iowa.