NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A U.S. Midwest high-voltage transmission line that faced lengthy environmental pushback entered service this week some 13 years after grid operators approved the project, developers said on Friday.

The Cardinal-Hickory Creek 345,000-volt transmission line, which ships clean power from Iowa to Wisconsin, came to exemplify the struggles of constructing U.S. power lines at a time of swiftly rising electricity demand.

"Following years of work, including numerous opportunities for public input, extensive regulatory and environmental review, and construction, the entire Cardinal-Hickory Creek line has been placed in service," said Dusky Terry, president of the line's co-owner ITC Midwest. ATC and Dairyland Power Cooperative are also partial owners of the 102-mile project.

As of June, 160 renewable generation projects in the upper Midwestern states totaling nearly 25 gigawatts of capacity were dependent upon completion of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek line, the co-owners said.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden applauded the completion of the line and lauded it as a crucial step towards bringing clean power to the Midwest.

"It takes perseverance to build the infrastructure we need and the Cardinal Hickory Creek Project proves that we can get the job done by bringing clean, affordable power to Wisconsin and Iowa," said John Podesta, senior advisor to the president for international climate policy.

In May, a U.S. appeals court lifted a lower court's order blocking a land exchange needed before developers could build the final stretch of the major clean-energy transmission line through a Mississippi River wildlife refuge.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/contested-midwest-transmission-line-starts-up-13-years-after-approval-2024-09-27/