Salt River Project has submitted an application with the state to build a 230-kilovolt power line along a controversial path in Queen Creek.
Now that SRP has applied for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for the Abel-Moody line, it will be up to an Arizona Corporation Commission line siting committee to recommend the final path of the line.
The 20-mile project is planned to connect the future Abel Substation, located near the intersection of Judd and Attaway roads southeast of Queen Creek, with the Schrader-to-Santan 230kV transmission line near the Moody Substation, located near Recker and Pecos roads in Gilbert. As part of the project, a new substation will be built near the intersection of Combs and Meridian roads in Queen Creek.
SRP’s preferred route runs southeast along the Rittenhouse railroad corridor, then cuts east on Ryan Road and south on Signal Butte before meeting up with Rittenhouse again.
Several residents in the area have started a petition against that route, concerned about proximity to existing homes. Those residents would prefer a route along Germann Road, which is the same route Queen Creek’s Town Council has endorsed.
SRP officials have said the nearby Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport makes the Germann option difficult.
The Corporation Commissions Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee will review the application at a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 5 at the ASU Polytechnic Campus, Student Union Cooley Ballrooms, 7001 E. Williams Field Road, Mesa. There will also be a special public comment session that evening at 6 p.m. at the same location. Following the hearings, the siting committee will decide whether to issue or deny the certificate, which requires final approval at an open meeting of the ACC.
If the application is granted, SRP expects to begin construction in 2011 with completion of the first circuit planned for 2012.
For more information about the project or for a map of proposed routes, visit www.azpower.org/abelmoody.
