A development company wants to build a 349-mile underground transmission line that would carry renewable energy from wind-rich rural Iowa to high-demand eastern U.S. cities.

Direct Connect Development Co. said Monday it wants to build a 2,100-megawatt high-voltage transmission line that would run underground from Mason City to the Chicago area along existing railroad lines, primarily the Canadian Pacific.

The project, called SOO Green, is expected to cost about $2.5 billion and could be operational by 2024, the company said. It would need permits from several local, state and federal agencies, including the Iowa Utilities Board and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, to go ahead with the project.

Read the full article on the Des Moines Register website.