March 8, 2026
By GILLIAN POMPLUN – originally published in the Crawford County Independent
At the 90th annual meeting of Vernon Electric Cooperative on Thursday, Feb. 26, a majority of the 185 members present approved a resolution requesting additional information about Dairyland Power Cooperative and GridLiance’s proposed MariBell 765-kilovolt transmission line.
The resolution, submitted by Carl Volden and Travis Klinkner, asks for more clarity on the necessity, cost, and impacts of the massive transmission project. If constructed, the MariBell line would be the first transmission line of its size in Wisconsin, crossing southeast Minnesota, western Vernon County, and west-central Crawford County.
The proposed 140-mile segment would run between Marion, Minn., and Bell Center, Wis., and would be part of a larger “backbone transmission line” project extending east to the Columbia Substation near Portage before continuing south to the Illinois state line.
- MariBell and BECI Transmission Line Project Facts
- The Overall Plan: The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the regional grid operator, has approved a massive new 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to move power across the Midwest. The line is split into distinct segments managed by different developers.
- In Our Area:
- Segment 1: The MariBell Project
- The Developers: A joint venture between La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative and GridLiance Heartland (a NextEra Energy Transmission subsidiary).
- Proposed Route: An approximately 140-mile, double-circuit 765 kV and 161 kV line stretching from Marion, Minnesota, crossing the Mississippi River near Genoa, Wis., and terminating at a substation in Bell Center, Wis.
- Counties Impacted: Olmsted, Mower, Fillmore, and Houston in Minnesota; Vernon and Crawford in Wisconsin.
- Segment 2: The BECI Project
- The Developer: Transource LLC, a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
- Proposed Route: Continuing from the Bell Center substation, this segment is anticipated to travel past the Kickapoo Valley Reserve to Hillsboro, move east to the Columbia Substation near Portage, Wis., and then turn south for approximately 200 miles to terminate at the new Sugar Creek substation on the Wisconsin/Illinois border.
- Additional Counties Impacted: This continuation will carve through additional areas of Crawford, Vernon, and Richland counties—impacting numerous municipalities served by the Vernon Electric Cooperative—before heading south through Sauk, Columbia, Dane, Jefferson, Walworth, and Rock counties.
- Physical Footprint: Both segments would utilize massive steel lattice structures standing between 150 and 200 feet tall. The projects will require expanding existing utility corridors to create cleared right-of-way easements up to 250 feet wide.
- Stated Purpose: MISO and the developers maintain the project is necessary to enhance regional grid reliability, support future load growth, and provide access to cost-effective generation resources across the Upper Midwest.
- Estimated Timeline: Developers anticipate filing formal permit applications and proposed routes with state regulators in the fall of 2026. If approved, construction is tentatively scheduled from 2031 to 2034, with an expected in-service date of 2034.
- Public Opposition: The projects face staunch resistance from local citizens, landowners, and municipal governments. Opponents cite the permanent environmental and visual scarring of the unglaciated Driftless Area landscape, threats to the local tourism and agriculture economies, health concerns regarding noise and electromagnetic fields, and data from an independent monitor suggesting the massive 765 kV line is not currently justified.
Resolution review
Vernon Electric Cooperative CEO and General Manager Craig Buros explained the resolution review process to members during the meeting.
“The Review Committee members met at the Vernon Electric Cooperative headquarters on Feb. 3,” Buros said. “Also present were Director of Human Resources and executive assistant Janet Kotek; Director of Member Services Trevor Clark; and the cooperative’s attorney, Sarah Buck. The purpose of this meeting was to review one timely submitted member advisory resolution to ensure the resolution was in order and to determine whether additional information should be presented to the members to ensure a full hearing of the issues covered by the resolution.”
Attorney Buck read the resolution aloud to the membership. She reported that the Review Committee had recommended changes to the format of the resolution to ensure it met procedural requirements. The resolution’s authors accepted those changes.
“The review committee requested that Mr. Buros provide additional information at the upcoming annual meeting regarding potentially misleading statements in the preamble, to ensure a full airing of the issue and an informed decision by the membership,” Buck said. “Mr. Buros agreed to provide a full airing of the issue.”
Klinkner explains resolution
Travis Klinkner, an organic dairy farmer from the Town of Harmony, addressed the membership to explain why he and his father-in-law, Carl Volden, submitted the resolution.
“We’ve proposed this resolution not to say that the line needs to be stopped, though that may be how I feel about it,” Klinkner said. “What we’re really asking is for Vernon Electric Cooperative, who is our representation to the Dairyland Power Cooperative Board, to say that we would like some answers.”
Klinkner said members have struggled to obtain clear information from Dairyland Power regarding the project.
“This is an unprecedented thing being done in Wisconsin, let alone in the Driftless,” he said. “We’re learning things that suggest this isn’t necessary, that it’s being forced, and that we’re going to end up paying for it. If we’re going to pay for it, I want to know why it’s going in and what it’s really doing for us.”
He emphasized that the resolution was not a criticism of Vernon Electric employees.
“Everyone I’ve talked to is thankful for Vernon Electric,” Klinkner said. “None of this is to come down on the guys in the trucks. This is cooperative members saying we’re going to end up paying for this, so we want to know why, how, when, what, and all the details.”
VEC leadership clarifies project scope
Buros stressed that the MariBell transmission line is not a Vernon Electric project.
“We just deliver energy from the distribution substation to the metering point in everybody’s homes and businesses,” he said. “This is far from your typical transmission project.”
He explained that the MariBell line is part of MISO’s Tranche 2.1 transmission expansion plan. MISO, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, oversees electric transmission planning across 15 states and Manitoba, Canada, managing approximately 77,000 miles of transmission lines serving about 45 million customers.
Buros said MISO has identified a need for additional transmission capacity in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois due to energy consumption patterns and state energy policies.
“Wisconsin consumes more energy than it generates,” Buros said. “Illinois has passed legislation preventing investor-owned utilities from owning fossil fuel generation, and Minnesota has announced plans to be carbon neutral by 2040. MISO believes transmission is needed to address these factors.”
Buros said preferred and alternate routes have not yet been officially identified, though open house meetings are scheduled for March.
“I think we could all speculate that the route through southeast Minnesota, Vernon County, and Crawford County is the preferred route,” he said.
He noted that the project would include a 765 kV and 161 kV double-circuit line and would replace aging 161 kV lines built more than 60 years ago. Rebuilding those existing lines alone, Buros said, would cost an estimated $202 million to $270 million.
“There is some obvious financial benefit there,” Buros said. “That leads me to believe this is the preferred route. I’m not here to defend this or advocate for it—just to provide details.”
Ownership and cost concerns
Buros also discussed failed Wisconsin legislation that would have given in-state utilities first right of refusal on transmission projects.
“Without that legislation, bidding on these projects turns into the wild west,” he said. “There are huge investment companies bidding on them.”
He cited the next segment east of Bell Center, which was awarded to Transource and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
“If Dairyland owns the project, the return stays with its members and puts downward pressure on rates,” Buros said. “If investors own it, it goes to shareholders.”
Buros emphasized that Vernon Electric has no more information about the project than its members and has learned much from member conversations.
“Dairyland doesn’t have any say in where this line goes or the necessity of it,” he said. “That lies 100% with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.”
Member discussion
Before the vote, members raised questions and concerns. Klinkner reiterated that the resolution was intended to communicate member concerns to Dairyland Power, which sits on the MISO board.
“I want the people representing me to take our concerns to the people up top,” he said. “I want them to show us why this is needed.”
Member Tennille Osthoff, a member of the citizen group No765 Line, pointed to the broader costs of MISO’s Tranche 2.1 projects.
“We’re learning that our segment alone will cost about $13.50 per bill,” Osthoff said. “But we’ll also be paying for all the other segments on that map. We’re talking about potentially tripling our utility bills by 2034. That’s not fair to us or to the Driftless Region.”
Following discussion, members voted to approve the resolution, formally requesting additional information and transparency regarding the MariBell transmission project.
Residents will have several upcoming opportunities to voice their concerns directly to project developers. Dairyland Power plans to host two public open houses in Wisconsin on March 10 and March 12.
March 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Gays Mills (Wis.) Community Center
March 12, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Retreat Sportsman’s Club (De Soto, Wis.)
Add comment