Midwestern green power transmission project gains new partner

From an article by Jordan Burke on Bloomberg.com:

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- MDU Resources Group Inc., the largest company in the Dakotas, said it will join with ITC Holdings Corp. in developing the Green Power Express, a transmission project that will link wind farms in the U.S. Plains to cities.

The transmission lines will run about 3,000 miles (4,827 kilometers) through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana, MDU said today in a statement. MDU, based in Bismarck, North Dakota, said the Green Power Express will carry as much as 12,000 megawatts. One megawatt can power about 800 average U.S. homes, according to the Energy Department in Washington.

The project will cost about $10 billion to $12 billion, and MDU will be the first of many partners involved, Novi, Michigan- based ITC said in a separate statement. The lines will carry power to major markets in the U.S. Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions, the company said.