PRI Leads $29.8M Project to Upgrade North Dakota Grid
The Prairie Research Institute (PRI) will lead a US$29.8 million project to modernize 54 miles of transmission lines in North Dakota. The five-year initiative includes US$14.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program.
The project will replace 80-year-old steel-core lines with carbon-core conductors, optical ground wire and a smart-grid system, and upgrade substations. The changes are expected to increase capacity nearly tenfold within the right-of-way, addressing transmission capacity and grid resilience challenges.
“Our project will replace a 54-mile stretch of roughly 80-year-old, weathered, steel-core transmission line with an advanced technology,” said PRI lead engineer Les Gioja. The investment will increase capacity, safety and resilience for users and tribal communities.
PRI is partnering with Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. and Slope Electric Cooperative, overseen by Innovative Energy Alliance Cooperative. Montana-Dakota Utilities will own the lines. Construction is expected to begin in 2028.
Source: Univeristy of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Prairie Research Institue
