Much Needed Transmission Lines Will Move Wind Energy Around the State

OGE Energy Corp. and ETA Announce Plan to Build 765 kV Lines in Western Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY -- OGE Energy Corp. and Electric Transmission America (ETA) announced today that the companies have formed Horizon Transmission LLC to construct high-capacity transmission line projects in western Oklahoma. "Oklahoma again has an opportunity to grow its economy while delivering a highly valued resource to our region,” said Pete Delaney, chairman, president and CEO of OGE Energy Corp. “This time, it’s the clean and renewable energy resource provided by the consistent winds present in western Oklahoma.” OGE will own 50 percent of the Horizon Transmission LLC joint venture. Separately, OGE’s Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) subsidiary already is proposing to build a 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line between Woodward and northwest Oklahoma City. That line is targeted for completion in 2010.

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Finally, Long-Term Federal Funding for Amtrak...

Jun 17, 2008

The moment may have arrived: We may at last be on the brink of empowering Amtrak to offer a sensible method of alternative travel in the U.S. Last week the House of Representatives passed a measure that for the first time in history will establish long-term funding for Amtrak. The bill will authorize the appropriation of nearly 3 billion dollars a year for five years for the national railroad system. Who could possibly deny that we now desperately need a system of energy-efficient rail transportation to give us an alternative method of traveling about within the United States?
The House bill now goes to a conference committee to eliminate differences in a somewhat-similar bill passed by the Senate. And what's significant is that the margin by which the House bill was passed, 311 to 104, is more than sufficient to overcome a threatened veto by President Bush.
Thus, the moment may have come. We may at last be ready to defeat the long-maintained opposition to Amtrak by the oil industry and install a sensible system of alternative transportation in America. All of us should make our views known to members of Congress.

For more informtion, visit http://www.frommers.com/blog/2008/06/moment-may-have-arrived-we-may-at-last.html