Southern Cross Transmission has invited local construction companies and other area businesses to a vendor fair Tuesday related to a proposed $700 million wind energy transmission line that may run through the Golden Triangle.
The fair will be held from 2-4 p.m. at Fairfield Inn and Suites on Sixth Street North, company spokesperson Denton Gibbes said. Vendors will be able to talk with company officials about the project and leave their contact information.
Southern Cross, a subsidiary of Pattern Energy Groups, plans to build the 400-mile, 500-kilovolt line from west Louisiana to east Mississippi. Though the project may not ultimately come to the Golden Triangle, proposed routes show the line could cross through Lowndes, Oktibbeha or Clay counties, ending with a $300 million converter station in Caledonia. The project could create about 300 construction jobs.
That work is why Southern Cross is reaching out to businesses – not just construction crews, Gibbes said, but food services, hoteliers and businesses that service trucks and large equipment. That way if the project does come to the Columbus area, Southern Cross will already have information on local businesses the company could utilize during the construction.
“(It’s) basically an opportunity for vendors to stop by and provide their information so we can enter it into a database,” Gibbes said. “So when the construction project does get underway, we have a Rolodex of folks we can turn to for various and sundry services.
“It is kind of a large construction project and we do have equipment and people to take care of in the process,” he added. “And we’re going to utilize as many local vendors as we can.”
Construction for the project is slated to begin in 2018 and end in 2021. Gibbes said the company may hold another vendor fair closer to the start of construction if the project comes to Lowndes County.
Before construction begins, the Public Service Commission must approve the project. Public Service Commissioner for the Northern District Brandon Presley said he expects Southern Cross to determine the final route of the transmission line and file its application for the project with Presley’s office by the end of this year.
Southern Cross reached out to landowners with property within 500 feet of the proposed routes in June. Many of those landowners have objected to the project.
Presley began holding public meetings this summer to answer questions about the project, during which landowners raised concerns about the line marring the landscape and driving down property values in the area.
Presley has also directed Southern Cross company representatives to meet with landowners in person. The company has already held 106 in-person meetings with individual landowners in Mississippi, and Gibbes said more are scheduled. The company has also contacted landowners through email, phone, letters and open meetings.
Once Southern Cross has filed the project application with Presley’s office, cities can levy formal objections, Presley said.
Southern Cross representatives have stated the company wants to work with landowners to obtain right-of-way on property and will only resort to imminent domain as a last resort.
The line will be bookended by converter stations. In addition to construction jobs, the project is expected to create about 30 jobs at the converter stations and about 12 maintenance jobs.
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