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The Cascade Renewable Transmission System is a proposed high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that would span approximately 100 miles between The Dalles and Portland, and other related or supporting facilities. The HVDC line would primarily be installed in the bed of the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington.
Installation would be accomplished 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 rock berm would be used to keep the cable weighted down and protected from damage. An approximately 7.4-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. On February 27, 2026, the Oregon Department of Energy received a preliminary Application for a Site Certificate (pASC) for the proposed facility. The Department is reviewing the pASC for completeness in coordination with Oregon state and local government agencies and Tribal governments. Please note, the Department is also coordinating its review with siting reviews being conducted by the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (WA EFSEC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The statutes, administrative rules, council standards, local ordinances, and other requirements for the pASC were established in the First Amended Project Order, which was issued on April 24, 2025. Copies of the pASC, First Amended Project Order, and other supporting documents are available for review and download in the Timeline below. Public Notice will be issued once the Department determines that the pASC is complete. | 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. | |
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