In the latest sign that a controversial high-voltage transmission line planned for Wisconsin has become a political touchstone, both candidates to serve as Wisconsin governor say they oppose it.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley announced his opposition in a Sept. 10 press release. A Republican candidate Tom Tiffany has told voters across the state that he's opposed to the project, a spokesperson said.
The BECI project, a proposed 765-kilovolt power line, would stretch from western Wisconsin to the Illinois state line in Walworth County. Despite the developers' position that it is vital for a reliable electric grid and a smooth transition to clean energy, individual landowners and communities along the line have mounted intense backlash to what they view as an unnecessary disturbance of the state's Driftless region, primarily intended to serve data centers.
The governor of Wisconsin, along with the state Senate, appoints commissioners to the Public Service Commission, who will ultimately approve or deny proposed power line projects like this one. The current commissioners, appointed by Gov. Tony Evers, are serving six-year terms that will end in 2030.
In Crowley's Sept. 10 statement, he said Wisconsin's clean energy future "cannot come at the expense of our local communities or the Driftless region as a whole."
Tiffany in an emailed statement said Wisconsin "should not become a web of massive transmission lines crisscrossing our farmland because politicians failed to build reliable power right here at home."
Tiffany's spokesperson also noted Crowley's endorsement by Clean Wisconsin Action Fund, the lobbying arm of Clean Wisconsin, which has previously spoken in favor of the high-voltage transmission lines as a way to increase electric grid reliability and lower the cost of energy by bringing in wind and solar from the Plains.
Crowley's and Tiffany's opposition comes on the heels of other politicians' criticism of the project.
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers on Sept. 9 called for developer Midcontinent Grid Solutions to delay bringing the project to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to allow for more time to gather feedback from affected landowners. Both U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, the Republican representing western Wisconsin in Congress, and his Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke, have raised concerns about the line as well.
More than 50 local and county governments have passed resolutions opposing the BECI project or requesting more information about it, as have school districts and land preservation groups.
The $1.2 billion BECI project is the second 765-kilovolt line proposed in Wisconsin. It and the other proposed line, called the MariBell project, are part of a slate of projects to improve the strength of the Midwest's electric grid.
A spokesperson for Midcontinent Independent System Operator – the regional grid operator known as MISO – said these projects were planned before the proliferation of hyperscale data centers.
Developers of the BECI line sent information to landowners in early August about the project and asked for public comments to be submitted by Sept. 7. For now, they anticipate bringing the project to the Public Service Commission in early 2027, after which it could be between a year and 18 months before a decision is reached.
State lawmakers in their Sept. 9 letter said they have heard from hundreds of constituents "utterly blindsided and overwhelmed" at the scope of the project and the speed it is moving.
More: Second high-voltage power line proposed to cut through Driftless area
More: Bipartisan group of lawmakers seeks more time for input on power line
Madeline Heim covers public health and environment issues for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Crowley, Tom Tiffany say they oppose new power line project