JOINT RESPONSE TO DANE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT RULING ON FILING OF EMERGENCY MOTION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION
American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative
We are disappointed with the Dane County Circuit Court’s ruling to issue an order stating the Plaintiffs would be entitled to a temporary injunction of project construction if they post a bond by two sureties in the amount of $32 million. If the Plaintiffs meet the requirement of the Court’s order, the injunction will delay construction on the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project. Our legal team is reviewing the decision and discussing possible next steps.
The Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line Project is vital to the future of our region’s renewable energy and clean energy economy. Construction of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project is well underway, with nearly six months of construction completed in Iowa. If the bond requirement is met and the injunction becomes effective, this injunction will cause needless construction delays, postpone the delivery of essential project benefits to electric consumers, and add unnecessary costs to this essential capital project – costs which will ultimately be passed along to energy consumers.
American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative believe this project stands on its merits. The Cardinal-Hickory Creek project is needed more today than when initially approved by the PSCW in 2019. Currently there are 114 generation projects, including 108 with more than 17 gigawatts of renewable generation, dependent upon its construction – enough to power millions of homes with clean energy. This includes nearly 1.5 gigawatts of renewable generation from Wisconsin.
We look forward to completing this project, which will reduce energy costs, improve electric grid reliability, relieve congestion on the transmission system, support decarbonization goals and help support the interconnection of renewable generation in the Upper Midwest.