Opponents Fight ‘Largest Transmission Line Ever Constructed’ in Wisconsin

A proposed upgrade to the electric transmission line in Wisconsin’s Driftless region is facing opposition from local farmers and homeowners, and a group’s lawsuit is trying to stop its construction.

The Dairyland Power Cooperative says it will help improve the flow of electricity. Locals claim it could take their land, hurt cattle and they won’t be able to connect to the new power lines.

The project, which is partly owned by the Dairyland Power Cooperative, is called the MariBell Transmission Project, and statements from the co-op say it will help improve the grid and data center performance.

It will also require hundreds of newly built 200-feet-tall metal structures, heavy-duty lines, large scale construction and alterations to the area’s lands, according to statements from Dairyland.

Genoa farmer Tim Woodhouse, who is leading an effort to stop construction, says the power lines will not connect to the small communities that the proposed routes for the project will go through.

“Obviously, none of us saw this coming as far as a threat to our community — and  that’s how I see it,” Woodhouse said. “I see it as a threat.”

Stretching from Marion, Minnesota, to Bell Center, Wisconsin, the MariBell line is part of a larger project, covering hundreds of miles of power lines across both states, according to construction documents.

While the small community of Viroqua hasn’t been impacted yet, Mayor Krista Browne said it’s only a matter of time.

“We haven’t faced anything to this scale,” Browne said. “Because it’s such a wide regional concern, and it’s going to affect us all a little bit differently.”

In a statement, Dairyland said this is a section of the North Rochester-Columbia line, part of a larger infrastructure project by a group known as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO.

“The MariBell Transmission Project will help maintain a reliable, resilient and flexible power grid while delivering economic benefits to residents in the Upper Midwest,” a May statement from Dairyland read. Based in La Crosse, the co-op currently serves about 750,000 people across four states.

MISO says new power lines update and improve their system, while carrying more electricity. It was approved by the group’s board in 2024.

“With more renewable generation in the future, which is typically located long distances from where energy is needed among greater populations, the technology is ideal to facilitate large power transfers across the footprint,” a fact sheet from MISO on the project states.

Coalition group asks for injunction to stop project

One group has taken legal action over the proposed line in Vernon County.

In a complaint naming Dairyland and its partner GridLiance Heartland, the Coalition Against Maribel 765 lists a number of concerns — the impact to homes, farms and businesses; property values; and environmental impact.

Another major concern in the complaint is the size of the equipment.

They’ve asked for an injunction to stop the line.

Plans for the MariBell line call for steel transmission line towers approximately 200 feet high to hold the lines in place, according to MariBell documents. The width of the right-of-way for the power structures would be approximately 250 feet.

The project “would be the largest transmission line ever constructed in the state of Wisconsin and possibly in the Midwest,” the complaint states.

Woodhouse worries about eminent domain for properties along the proposed route, which includes many pieces of his own farmland or parcels owned by his family. The complaint identifies other homeowner concerns over cancer risk, stray voltage damage from broken lines, loud sounds and the proximity of the power lines to homes.

Woodhouse has lived in Genoa, Wisconsin, all of his life. His family has been in the area for generations. He expects the combination of effects from the project — potential eminent domain claims, construction, impacts to his livestock — to take a toll.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow, but I personally don’t feel like that my farm will sustain this, or my livelihood will sustain this,” he said.

Data centers drive energy demand spike

Larger transmission lines will route electricity for manufacturing and private consumption. But MISO has said the growth of new data centers is one reason they need the larger power lines.

Browne worries the power on these lines could travel right through the area, skipping whole communities and moving to larger areas and private data centers.

“I’m not against electrification. I’m not even against A.I.,” she said. But she added that she struggles to understand how this project benefits the public.

The MariBell line is expected to be in service in 2034.

Despite some listening sessions by the power company, neither Browne nor Woodhouse feel there has been meaningful engagement with the community by the company.

MariBell did provide a presentation to the Vernon County Board of Supervisors in February outlining the project scope and the approvals still required from Minnesota. The presentation says they will try to use existing right of way and minimize environmental impacts.

After filing the suit in Vernon County, Woodhouse said the anti-power line coalition is waiting on a court date. Locals hope for some guidance from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission on the project.

“That’s where the urgency is, that the PSC needs to understand how opposed real people are,” Browne said.

Group seeks to fight ‘largest transmission line ever constructed’ in Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.