SUGAR CREEK — Opposition is growing among Walworth County public officials over a proposed massive powerline project that could snake its way through Walworth County.
On Thursday, the Elkhorn Area School District Board of Education passed a resolution opposing the project.
Then on Friday, State Rep. Tyler August announced he was against the proposed project as well.
Midcontinent Grid Solutions is currently studying potential routes for the proposed Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–Illinois/Wisconsin State Line (BECI) 765-kV transmission project.
The proposed project would stretch approximately 190 miles, cost an estimated $1.2 billion, and commonly utilize structures approximately 175 feet tall within a right-of-way approximately 180 feet wide, according to the Elkhorn Area School District.
One of the reasons this issue is particularly important to EASD is its proposed connection to the Sugar Creek Substation, located north of Elkhorn, approximately two miles from West Side Elementary School.
Preliminary study segments approach northern and western Elkhorn and areas served by the district.
And in his statement, August said Wisconsin law establishes a clear priority for siting new transmission lines: existing utility corridors first, followed by highway and railroad corridors.
“Our farmland and natural resources are not simply empty space on a map, and private property owners should not be forced to bear the burden when other options have not been exhausted,” he said.
Tyler said he is calling on Midcontinent Grid Solutions to follow Wisconsin law and find a route that uses an existing utility, highway, or railroad corridor.
Without that commitment, he will oppose this project.
The project would be paid for by current customers, however critics say the lines will be used to deliver electricity to future data centers, which won’t then have to pay for the infrastructure.
Concerned residents cannot yet submit formal comments to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin because an official application has not been filed.
The project developer, Midcontinent Grid Solutions, is currently in a pre-filing stage and expects to submit its formal application to the PSC in early 2027. Once the official PSC docket opens, a specific case number and comment portal will become available.