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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Report turns thumbs down on underwater hydro line
JOHN QUINTON PHOTO / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge Image
A hydro cable under Lake Winnipeg would be costly and less durable, report says.
There would be no angry landowners to contend with, no boreal forest to rip up and minimal environmental impact.
But laying a hydroelectric transmission cable on the floor of Lake Winnipeg would create its own problems, and it won't be the best option for transmitting power to southern Manitoba from northern hydro dams for the foreseeable future, a new report concludes.
Manitoba Hydro is preparing to build a third Bipole transmission line west of Lake Manitoba. A fourth transmission line is unlikely to be needed until at least 2025.
The idea of a submarine transmission line has long been advocated by some academics, journalists and politicians.
In response, Manitoba Hydro commissioned a five-member panel to investigate future power-line options, including overhead, underground, submarine and a hybrid of these. The panel's 168-page report was released Friday.
If and when a fourth transmission line is needed, a 500-kilovolt direct-current submarine or underground cable may become viable for part of the route, pending further research and technological advances, the report said. But it said an overhead line would still be the preferred option, followed, in order of preference, by the underground and underwater options.
Among the hazards of a lake-bottom line is that Lake Winnipeg's surface is frozen six months of the year, making repairs impractical during that time. There would also be complex licensing and regulatory hurdles, the report said. And because the world's ocean-going cable-laying fleet cannot access Lake Winnipeg, a suitably equipped cable-laying barge, dock and cable-handling facilities would have to be built.
The report estimated transmission lines with large underwater portions would be more than double the cost of overhead lines. It said the life expectancy of an overhead transmission line is about 100 years compared with 40 to 50 years for an underground or submarine cable.
Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said the report should put the idea of an underwater transmission cable to rest for the foreseeable future. But he said Hydro will monitor future technological advances that might make it more advantageous one day.
The study's panel was chaired by consulting engineer David Farlinger.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 9, 2011 A14
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