American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), generator of 38,000 megawatts of electricity across 39,000 miles of transmission lines across the eastern and central US, is considering heading down the wind energy highway.

Not only that, but they're looking to build their own clean energy superhighway. AEP is exploring construction of a wind power transmission system that would run from North Dakota to Chicago, supplying 765 kilovolts of power throughout the Midwest. Implementation of the project would require in excess of 1,000 miles of super-high voltage transmission lines that would carry electricity from the Hartland Wind Farm, LLC in North Dakota. The infrastructure cost would be between $5 and 10 billion.

The high voltage transmission lines would be engineered to reduce energy loss, which is the inevitable outcome when electricity is transported over transmission lines. Less than one percent will be lost with these lines, compared to the 10 percent typically lost with traditional transmission lines. That will produce multiple benefits, including improved margins for AEP, more economical pricing for customers, and greater energy efficiency for the country.

According to AEP’s CEO, Michael G. Morris, “The Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa have some of the very best wind generation resources in the United States, but the wind potential in this region cannot be developed unless we build a very efficient transmission superhighway to bring this clean, renewable generation to population and electricity load centers.”

AEP's step is an important one for the country as well as the company. We have a "Saudi Arabia of wind" in the U.S. What's been lacking has been transmission capacity. AEP's move would take us down the right highway.

(Photo by Flickr user eurodana)