November 19, 2019 High Country Line Construction Helps Bring Nevada Renewables Goals Closer
PROJECT FOR GRIDLIANCE INCLUDED UNDERGROUND AND OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION WORK, 25-ACRE SWITCHYARD
Nevada took another step towards meeting its renewable energy goals with the completion of the Sloan Canyon Switchyard and Transmission Line Project. GridLiance commissioned the 230kv switching station on Nov. 19, 2019.
It’s no coincidence MYR Group subsidiary High Country Line Construction (High Country) was selected to build this complex project. Whether it’s constructing foundations, setting steel, performing helicopter skid work, pulling wire or performing civil work for a substation, HCLC can handle it all.
High Country oversaw all the electrical and civil work on the switchyard and transmission project for GridLiance, including foundations, building a new 25-acre switching station, and installing 72 miles of optical ground wire (OPGW). OPGW is designed to protect the lines from lightning strikes.
“We actually do it from dirt to finish, every step ourselves. We can do it all in-house,” HCLC superintendent Dave Thomas said. “We have a lot of very, highly trained personnel, be it substations, be it transmission lines, be it foundations.”
Crews bored holes, built foundations, and even installed sections of overhead line by helicopter, completing the work in July 2019.
High Country also ensured native plants and animals like the desert tortoise were protected as they worked in the rugged, rocky terrain between Pahrump and Boulder City, Nevada. Tortoises occasionally stopped traffic because they always had right-of-way.
GridLiance expects the project to enable the expansion of renewable energy development in the region.
“This also marks an important step in facilitating additional renewable energy development in Southwest Nevada. The switching station and transmission line serve as a key pathway to undeveloped sites that have been designated by CAISO as suitable for large-scale photovoltaic solar systems,” GridLiance CEO Calvin Crowder said in a press release the day of the commissioning.
Project Details: Sloan Canyon Switchyard and Transmission Line