Big energy transmission projects in the US are getting closer to approval

This file photo from May 20, 2012, shows one of the major transmission lines that run west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The US Interior Department announced Thursday, April 28, 2022, that the federal government has completed another environmental review of a proposed transmission line that would carry wind-generated electricity from rural New Mexico to big cities in the West, and that similar reviews are planned for two more projects that would span parts of Utah and Nevada. Image Credit

The federal government has done another environmental review of a proposed transmission line that would carry wind-generated electricity from rural New Mexico to major cities in the West, and similar reviews are planned for two additional projects that would span parts of Utah and Nevada, according to the U.S. Interior Department.

The regulatory actions came a day after the Biden administration announced a $2.5 billion initiative to make the nation's power grid more resilient to catastrophic disasters caused by climate change. It is also part of the administration's goal of creating a carbon-free power sector by 2035.

The SunZia transmission project in New Mexico has been in the works for over a decade. Following a multi-year review, the Bureau of Land Management approved a right-of-way grant on federal lands.

After the US Defense Department and others raised concerns about the path of the high-voltage lines, developers 2021 submitted a new application modifying the route.

Following a public comment period, a final decision on the right of way application is expected this summer.

The Biden administration is the latest to promise expedited federal permitting and regulatory reforms to accelerate the development and modernization of the nation's energy infrastructure. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump have both promised to reduce bureaucracy.

While the other two transmission projects are still in the planning stages, the experience in New Mexico illustrates the complexities of bringing electricity from remote areas to population centers.

The placement of hundreds of miles of transmission lines, power poles, and electric substations frequently involves a jigsaw puzzle of private, state, and federal land, which may include environmentally sensitive areas.

Wind turbine blades sit in a field in the booming New Mexico town of Santa Teresa, near the US-Mexico border, in this Jan. 5, 2016 photo. The US Interior Department announced Thursday, April 28, 2022, that the federal government has completed another environmental review of a proposed transmission line that would carry wind-generated electricity from rural New Mexico to big cities in the West, and that similar reviews are planned for two more projects that would span parts of Utah and Nevada. (AP Image/Russell Contreras, File)

According to federal officials, the projects have the potential to move 10,000 megawatts of electricity generated by wind and solar resources.

"Transmission projects like those advanced today provide a promising path for diversifying our national energy portfolio and connecting more renewable energy while combating climate change and investing in communities," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement.

Apart from new transmission lines, the cost of maintaining and repairing existing electricity infrastructure has risen to more than $40 billion per year as utilities struggle to upgrade decades-old equipment. Customers are usually the ones who pay the bill.

Ice storms, hurricanes, wildfires, and other extreme weather have knocked out large parts of the United States' electrical networks with increasing frequency in recent years, according to an Associated Press analysis, which found that power outages from severe weather have more than doubled in the last two decades.

The renewable energy authority of New Mexico is among those who have invested in the SunZia project, which would include approximately 520 miles (836 kilometers) of transmission lines and a network of substations for delivering wind and solar power to Arizona and California. Pattern Energy, which has been busy building massive wind farms in central New Mexico, is the anchor tenant.

From Las Vegas to Reno, the proposed Greenlink West Transmission Project in Nevada would pass through seven counties.

NV Energy estimates that its $2.5 billion investment in the project will generate $690 million in economic activity and thousands of construction jobs.

The Cross-Tie Transmission Project, meanwhile, would consist of 214 miles (344 kilometers) of high-voltage lines running between central Utah and east-central Nevada, either within federally designated utility corridors or parallel to existing transmission facilities.

The project's developers claim it will relieve congestion on other key regional transmission lines and increase California's, Nevada's, Utah's, and Wyoming's ability to import and export renewable energy.

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Source: Matthew Brown of the Associated Press contributed reporting from Billings, Montana.