CIP, Siemens invest US$2.5 billion for SOO Green Renewable Rail transmission project

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Siemens Financial Services has announced its investment of US$2.5 billion worth of high-voltage direct-current transmission line for the SOO Green Renewable Rail transmission project in Iowa and Illinois.

The project would stretch almost 350 miles from Mason City, Iowa, in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid to a Commonwealth Edison substation near Chicago, which is in the PJM Interconnection LLC grid. The line would be able to transmit 2,100 megawatts, enough power to light about 2 million homes.

The line would be buried cables in a 2.5 foot wide by 5-foot deep underground and mostly along existing Canadian Pacific railroad lines, a sitting strategy initially used by telecommunications companies when they built out their fiber-optic networks. Project development is expected to take two to three years with another three years for construction. The line is expected to be operational in 2024.

The project is currently owned by an unnamed group of private investors and the Canadian Pacific but is being sold to a group of investors that includes Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Siemens. Siemens will also handle design, engineering, and manufacturing of the HVDC converter stations. The construction of the SOO Green line will be managed by another investor, New Jersey-based Jingoli Power LLC.

The project is expected to be operational in 2024.