Will New Power Lines Run Through Your Back Yard?

[babylonsister]

Will New Power Lines Run Through Your Back Yard?
By Coral Davenport, CQ Staff


Moving electricity generated by solar energy or windpower from sun-drenched deserts and windswept plains to energy-thirsty cities and towns will require thousands of miles of new power lines, many of which could cut across private property.

That, advocates say, will require strong direction from the federal government — including seizing land through the government’s “eminent domain” power.

“Renewables without eminent domain will not get to market,” said James Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy Corp.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., has introduced legislation (S 539) that would authorize the federal government to supersede state and local authority in siting for thousands of miles of new power lines, as part of a broader effort to boost renewable-energy production.

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee has a hearing on the concept scheduled for March 12, with the aim of rolling Reid’s proposal into a larger energy bill in the coming weeks, said panel Chairman Jeff Bingaman , D-N.M.

That will set the stage for a bruising fight with the states over property rights.

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