Community Benefits Snapshot: SOO Green Transmission Line Community Engagement and Benefits

The SOO Green HVDC Link is a 350-mile underground electricity transmission line connecting wind energy in MISO jurisdiction states to the PJM market, running from Mason City, Iowa to Yorkville, Illinois. The project is the first of its kind in the United States and is designed to be the longest underground HVDC line in the country, utilizing existing railroad rights of way to minimize community opposition and siting challenges.

• The SOO Green HVDC Link is a 2,100-megawatt (MW), 525-kilovolt (kV) underground transmission line spanning 350 miles from Mason City, Iowa to Yorkville, Illinois. It is designed to connect wind energy from states under MISO jurisdiction with the PJM market and is expected to be operational in the early 2030s.
• The project utilizes existing transportation rights of way, primarily the Canadian Pacific (CP) corridor, to reduce community resistance and simplify siting. This approach led to a lack of public opposition, as the Iowa Farm Bureau found no farmer members were directly impacted, and the Iowa Utilities Board used the burial and co-location to dismiss safety concerns.
• Financial benefits for host communities include estimated annual taxes of $1.5 million for the state of Iowa, based on $7,000 per pole-mile. In Illinois, where transmission lines are not taxed, SOO Green plans to negotiate payments in lieu of taxes totaling $14 million over the first 20 years of operation.
• The project provides co-location benefits by installing infrastructure that would otherwise be difficult for municipalities to negotiate with railroads. In cities such as Dubuque and Mason City, SOO Green is installing fiber optic cable conduit bundles and junction boxes within the HVDC line trenches to support broadband expansion.
• To support the local workforce and underserved populations, the developer has implemented the "Competitive Edge" and "Hire360" apprenticeship programs to create local jobs during the construction phase.
• SOO Green provides voluntary compensation to adjacent private landowners through 'good neighbor payments,' which are typically a few hundred dollars proportional to the length of the property segment. These payments require the signing of a "cooperation agreement and mutual release" contract, which some landowners viewed as symbolic consent for the project.
• There is significant uncertainty among local tax authorities regarding revenue estimates. This is attributed to the nature of Iowa's "replacement" taxes, which are not based on the line's assessed value, and a lack of clear definition on how county tax revenues are allocated to local districts like schools and towns.
• The project faces skepticism regarding the high cost of undergrounding, which is estimated to be two to four times the cost of overhead lines. While policy analysts expressed concern over potential cost overruns affecting the price of RECs for Illinois consumers, developers argue that lifecycle costs are competitive, particularly given the increase in extreme weather events.

APA

World Resources Institute (2025). Community Benefits Snapshot: SOO Green Transmission Line Community Engagement and Benefits. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshots-soo-green-transmission-line-community-engagement

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Community Benefits Snapshot: SOO Green Transmission Line Community Engagement and Benefits. 2025. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshots-soo-green-transmission-line-community-engagement.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Community Benefits Snapshot: SOO Green Transmission Line Community Engagement and Benefits |date=9 January 2025 |url=https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshots-soo-green-transmission-line-community-engagement |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2025community, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Community Benefits Snapshot: SOO Green Transmission Line Community Engagement and Benefits}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://www.wri.org/snapshots/community-benefits-snapshots-soo-green-transmission-line-community-engagement}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }