Aug. 28—ELLENDALE, N.D. — The JETx transmission line project was in the planning stages before Applied Digital built facilities in Jamestown and Ellendale, and the project would provide many benefits to the state, according to Jason Weiers, transmission project development manager for Otter Tail Power Co.
Weiers said Applied Digital first started construction in 2021 on a hosting facility about 7 miles north of Jamestown near the substation owned by Otter Tail Power. The facility is co-located with the substation.
“Applied Digital’s load additions were not part of the justification that went into identifying the JETx project,” Weiers said. “Even without the Applied Digital load, the JETx project still provides multiple types of value to the regional grid.”
Weiers spoke at an Energy Development and Transmission Committee meeting Wednesday, Aug. 27, in Ellendale.
Weiers said the Midcontinent Independent System Operators (MISO) initiated a long-range transmission line planning study in 2020 to identify future transmission line needs on the system in the next 10 to 20 years.
“They had the objectives of enhancing reliability, increasing resiliency, reducing transmission congestion and increasing access to low-cost energy so when the announcement came out about MISO initiating the long-range transmission planning study, Otter Tail and MDU (Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.) got together and worked on performing some transmission planning studies to identify transmission projects that they believe would benefit North Dakota.” he said.
MISO manages the power grid for a 15-state area and parts of the province in Manitoba.
JETx is a transmission line project that covers 95 miles and connects the Otter Tail Power substation north of Jamestown along North Dakota Highway 20 to the MDU substation near Ellendale. The line will have a 345-kilovolt capacity and will be capable of moving electricity in either direction as needed.
Weiers said the estimated cost of the JETx project and the substation expansions at Jamestown and Ellendale is $406 million.
He said project planners hope to start construction in 2026 with completion slated for 2028.
Landowners along the proposed JETx route have voiced health and safety concerns about the transmission line project being near their property. Landowners say the the transmission poles won’t be aesthetically pleasing, will impede the natural beauty of the outdoors and make it more difficult for farmers to spray crops or navigate around.
The Stutsman County Commission has approved a zoning ordinance for transmission lines that adds a setback distance of 1,000 feet between any occupied dwelling and a high-voltage transmission line.
The proposed Jamestown to Ellendale transmission line planned by Otter Tail Power and MDU generated much of the interest in the zoning change, Stutsman County Commission Chairman Levi Taylor told The Jamestown Sun in January.
The current standard for a setback distance is set at 500 feet by the North Dakota Public Service Commission.
Weiers said the JETx project will create a high-voltage transmission loop in North Dakota that will allow MISO to provide an alternative pathway to deliver electricity when other transmission lines are out of service.
Since December 2023, he said Jamestown has experienced three weather-related events that led to widespread power outages in the area.
“As a result of these outages, we had very limited transmission capacity to serve our customers in the area to keep the lights on for the entire area,” Weiers said. “We had to limit the load consumption of many of the large customers in the Jamestown area, including Cavendish Farms, Green Bison (Soy Processing), Dakota Spirit (AgEnergy) and Applied Digital. They had to operate at reduced levels in order to keep the lights on for the rest of the customers in this area.”
If the JETx project had been completed during those three weather-related events, there would have been an additional transmission path into Jamestown, he said.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission granted Otter Tail Power and MDU certificates of public convenience and necessity of the JETX project in November. The route permit application for the project has been submitted to the PSC for approval.
Weiers said the JETx project will increase transmission capacity, allowing MISO to reduce transmission constraints. He said increasing transmission capacity can accommodate new generation projects that can be developed anywhere with available transmission capacity.
“The JETx project can also enable new commercial and industrial customers that can site in this area or nearby this area,” he said.
Other benefits include making an estimated $17 million in landowner payments to acquire easements for the JETx project and paying over $20 million in taxes during construction, Weiers said.
At the peak of construction, he said the project is estimated to support over 500 jobs.
“It’s going to result in a total labor income of $94 million, generate $238 million business volumes, and also result in $1.7 million in revenues to local governments,” Weiers said.
MDU customers in North Dakota have seen about $31.7 million per year in benefits from Applied Digital’s 180-megwatt data center in Ellendale being online either through additional transmission service revenues collected from the data center or a sharing mechanism on the transaction charge, said Darcy Neigum, vice president of energy supply for MDU Resources Group Inc. When Applied Digital has 530 megawatts online by the end of 2027, estimated benefits are more than $34 million per year, or about $250 per residential customer a year, to MDU customers in North Dakota.
