The nearly $500 million Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line is southwestern Wisconsin was approved by all three commissioners of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. Their decision was based on improving access to wind energy from the west, reliability, and savings to ratepayers. This project was highly controversial, with large turnouts for the public hearings (see Energy On WI, May, 2019).
Wisconsin’s share of the cost of the project, a joint venture between the American Transmission Company (ATC), ITC Midwest, and Dairyland Power Cooperative, is $67 million. WSJ