State of Oregon: Facilities - Cascade Renewable Transmission System

The Cascade Renewable Transmission System is a proposed 320-kilovolt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that would span approximately 100 miles between The Dalles and Portland. The majority of the HVDC line would be installed in the bed of the Columbia River using a Hydro Jet Cable Burial Machine, or “jet plow”. The jet plow temporarily fluidizes sediment in an approximately 18-inch wide trench, places the cable in the trench, and allows the sediment to settle back over the cable, burying it at the prescribed depth in the riverbed. Where the cable cannot be buried, a concrete mattress or a rock berm would be used to keep the cable weighted down and protected from damage. An approximately 7.5-mile segment of the HDVC line would be buried in lands adjacent to the river near Stevenson, Washington to avoid the Bonneville Lock and Dam.

Additional underground segments would connect in-river transmission lines to two converter stations constructed near points of interconnection at both ends of the line. The Eastern Converter Station would be located near The Dalles and would connect to the Bonneville Power Administration’s Big Eddy Substation with approximately 500 feet of overhead 500-kV AC transmission line. The Western Converter Station would be located in the Rivergate Industrial District in North Portland and would be connected to Portland General Electric’s Harborton Substation with 230-kV AC cables installed under the Willamette River using horizontal-directional drilling.

Under Review. The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE or Department) received a Notice of Intent to File an Application for a Site Certificate for the Cascade Renewable Transmission System (facility) on March 7, 2023. Public Notice of the Notice of Intent was published on April 4, 2023. Copies of the Notice of Intent and the Public Notice can be found below.

Public Comments: The Department requests public comments on the NOI to help identify issues and areas of concern that should be addressed in the full application. Comments must be submitted by June 1, 2023, to be considered.

The Department is now accepting public comments through an online portal. The portal is intended to provide a convenient option to participate in Council rulemaking proceedings. The portal can be accessed at: https://odoe.powerappsportals.us/SitingPublicComment/

To comment on this project, select “Cascade Renewable Transmission" from the drop-down menu and follow the instructions. You will receive an email confirmation after submitting your comment.

Written comments may be submitted in writing by mail, e-mail, or by fax. Please send comments to:

Oregon Department of Energy
ATTN: Christopher Clark, Senior Siting Analyst
550 Capitol Street NE
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: (503) 871-7254
Fax: (503) 373-7806
Email: christopher.clark@energy.oregon.gov

In Person and Remote Public Informational Meetings: There will be two public informational meetings on the Notice of Intent. The meetings will begin with an opportunity for in-person attendees to ask the Department and applicant questions about the project followed by presentations for both in-person and remote attendees. All attendees will then have the opportunity to provide comment or ask additional questions. Additional details are provided below.

Meeting 1 – The Dalles
Date: May 2, 2023
Time: 5:00 PM - Individual Q&A
  6:00 PM - Presentation/webinar
Location: Columbia Gorge Discovery Center
  MJ Murdock Theater
5000 Discovery Drive,
  The Dalles, OR 97058

Meeting 2 – Portland
Date: May 3, 2023
Time: 5:00 PM - Individual Q&A
6:00 PM - Presentation/webinar
Location: Oxford Suites - Jantzen Beach
Town Meeting Room
12226 N Jantzen Drive
Portland, OR 97217

Meeting Materials:

The informational meeting is not a public hearing, and participation in the informational meeting is not required to establish eligibility to participate in the contested case proceeding.

The proposed Site Boundary would include lands and waters in and adjacent to Wasco County, the City of the Dalles, the City of Mosier, Hood River County, the City of Hood River, the City of Cascade Locks, Multnomah County, the City of Fairview, the City of Gresham, and the City of Portland in Oregon and Klickitat County, the City of Bingen, the City of White Salmon, Skamania County, the City of Stevenson, the City of North Bonneville, Clark County, the City of Washougal, the City of Camas, and the City of Vancouver in Washington. PDF Map | Online Map

Applicant/Certificate holder: Cascade Renewable Transmission, LLC (CRT). CRT is a joint enterprise of PB CRTS, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PowerBridge, LLC, and Sun2o Partners, LLC.

ODOE contact: Christopher Clark

Applicant/Certificate holder contact: Christopher Hocker, Vice President, Cascade Renewable Transmission, LLC.