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*Corrected* Barren Ridge Project Brings Renewable Energy Home

*Corrected*

Barren Ridge Project Brings Renewable Energy Home

Transmission Lines and Other Project Components Deliver Clean Electricity to Los Angeles Residents
LOS ANGELES— The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) held a ceremony today marking the completion of the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project. Consisting of 62 miles of double-circuit transmission line and construction of the 230 kV Haskell Switching Station, among other components, the Barren Ridge project will bring renewable wind and solar energy from the Tehachapi Mountains and Mojave Desert areas home to Los Angeles.

The clean solar and wind electricity produced by operations in the Tehachapi Mountains and Mojave Desert and delivered by Barren Ridge will power more than 25,000 homes in Los Angeles. Barren Ridge will provide customers access to approximately 1,000 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar power, which include 250 MW from Beacon solar project, 60 MW from RE Cinco solar, 250 MW from Springbok 1 and 2 solar projects, 143 MW from the Pine Tree solar and wind facility, as well as hundreds of megawatts from several of LADWP’s hydro-electric plants from the north.

A major component of LADWP’s Integrated Resources Plan – a roadmap for transitioning out of coal while maintaining a reliable power supply – Barren Ridge will help Los Angeles meet local and state mandates to reduce environmental impacts associated with climate change and to increase the amount of renewable energy served to customers. LADWP must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and increase the supply of renewable energy – such as wind and solar power – to 33 percent by 2020 and 50 percent by 2030.

“LA is a leader in renewable energy, and implementing projects like the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project is a priority for LA,” said LADWP General Manager David H. Wright. “Transforming our power supplies and meeting environmental mandates to help minimize the impacts of climate change are some of the reasons that we needed the recently-approved rate action. This project shows how that greatly benefits Los Angeles.”

Mike Webster, LADWP’s Executive Director of Engineering and Technical Services said, “This project entailed working in tough conditions in mountainous terrain, but thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, we are able to bring these transmission lines through to deliver more green power to our customers for a cleaner, greener future Los Angeles.”

In total the $300 million project consists of the following components:

  • Expansion of the existing Barren Ridge Switching Station located 12 miles north of Mojave, California;
  • Construction of the new Haskell Canyon Switching Station in Santa Clarita, California;
  • Construction of approximately 62 miles of a new double-circuit 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from the Barren Ridge Switching Station to the Haskell Canyon Switching Station;
  • Reconductoring of approximately 76 miles of the existing 230 kV transmission line with larger capacity conductors between Barren Ridge Switching Station and Rinaldi Receiving Station;
  • And the addition of approximately 12 miles of a new 230 kV circuit on the existing double-circuit structures from the Castaic Power Plant to Haskell Canyon Switching Station.

Construction of the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Corridor project is a complex engineering effort that took over eight years to plan, design and construct with the contributions of 400 employees, contractors and other support personnel. The project erected 306 lattice towers and nine monopoles, and used approximately 16 million pounds of steel on towers–enough steel to manufacture 4,000 cars.

For more information, visit www.LADWP.com/barrenridge.

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