Eversource is building what it calls “the Cape Cod Solution”: electrical upgrades to carry offshore wind power and reduce outages on the Cape, the company says.
Employees and community supporters gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday at the Bourne Switching Station, near the Cape Cod Canal.
“The power grid out here on Cape Cod, it's storm-prone,” said Bill Quinlan, president of transmission and offshore wind projects for Eversource. “It sees a lot of extreme weather. There's a fair number of trees, quite a number of outages. This solution will significantly increase the reliability of the electric grid here for our customers.”
The project consists of three phases. The first, begun last month, is the construction of a new 115-kilovolt overhead transmission line from the Bourne Switching Station to the substation in West Barnstable.
The line will be built to 345-kilovolt standards to accommodate offshore wind, but will initially operate at 11