Multi-Value Project (MVP) 3

Project Summary

Following years of planning and construction, ITC Midwest has completed and energized a major new, high-voltage electric transmission line. As a 103-mile segment of Multi-Value Project (MVP) 3, the 345,000 volt (345 kV) transmission line connects ITC Midwest’s Lakefield Junction and Huntley substations in southern Minnesota, and the Ledyard switching substation and MidAmerican Energy’s Kossuth County substation, in northern Iowa.   

MVP 3 is one of 17 Multi-Value Projects (MVPs) approved by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to provide access to low-cost electricity generation, improve reliability and efficiency, and expand access to renewable energy resources throughout the Midwest. Specifically, this transmission line will facilitate the integration of clean, renewable and cost-effective energy, including wind energy, from southern Minnesota and northern Iowa for electric consumers across the region.

During the construction phase of the transmission line, the project had a significant impact on the southern Minnesota and north-central Iowa economy, including employment of local contractors, vendors and suppliers. The regional economy benefited from the demand for supplies and services such as concrete, hardware, fuel, gravel and trucking, as well as food, lodging and other personal needs for construction crews. The transmission infrastructure provided by the project helps to spur economic development and job growth, as well as accommodate the growing needs of electricity users.

Quick facts about the ITC MVP 3 project 

• Construction began: November 2015 
• Length of line: 110 miles
• Total length of conductor used: 928 miles
• Approximately 75% of the line is double circuited 
• Number of steel monopole structures: 585 
• Distance between poles: 800-1,200 feet 
• Average number of poles per mile: 5 
• Height of poles: 110-195 feet
• Amount of concrete for pole and tower foundations: 88,170 cubic yards (equivalent to 9,800 mixer truckloads)
• Range of depth of the foundations: 40-102 feet 
• Quantity of gravel used for road maintenance: 135,000 tons
• Base diameter of poles used: largest diameter pole is 13.5 feet, most are 6.5 feet in diameter
• Lakefield to Huntley 56-mile segment energized May 18, 2018
• Huntley-Ledyard-Kossuth 54-mile segment energized September 27, 2018 
• General contractor: M.J. Electric