Quote:
Originally Posted by WestAustinite
I wish they would sell that current downtown substation block and use the money to move it 1/3 mile west to 3rd and Baylor St. There is a 6 acre plot (Tips Iron & Steel site) there along the train tracks across from the Amtrak station that sits directly under the main transmission lines feeding downtown.
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About half of the cost of moving the substation would be in extending the underground ductbanks that leave the substation to power downtown. A location nearby the current one is paramount in keeping the price down, so Tips is one of the few options still available. The high voltage lines along 3rd are only one of three circuits that feed into the substation. The feeds from the south and west would have to be extended there as well. The cost of the Tips site might not be that much less expensive than the value of the current substation land unless they only purchased a portion of it (or sold the rest) and downsized the footprint with GIS (Gas Insulated Substation) equipment. Twenty years ago the substation land was not worth as much as the cost of relocation (even to the site of the Independent, which AE already owned), but it may be nearing it now, especially if they were able to shrink the footprint to reduce land cost of a new site.