Regulator clears 3GW power line in southwest US

OREANDA-NEWS. The Bureau of Land Management has approved the \$2bn SunZia Southwest Transmission project that should be able to carry 3,000MW between New Mexico and Arizona starting in 2020.

The federal authorization is a key permit required for building the 515-mile (829km) line. The developer still is working to secure state and local permits in Arizona and New Mexico.

Project sponsors include utilities Tucson Electric Power and Salt River Project, developers Southwestern Power Group and Shell WindEnergy and power supplier Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. The developer says it has the backing of the New Mexico Renewable Transmission Authority.

Senior officials of President Barack Obama's administration today marked the approval of the project in a ceremony in Albuquerque, listing it as an example of the administration's commitment to develop domestic clean energy sources and cut carbon emissions.

"The SunZia Project will help unlock the abundant renewable energy resources in the southwest, creating jobs and bringing reliable, sustainable power to a growing corner of our country," Interior secretary Sally Jewell said. The Interior Department oversees the Bureau of Land Management, which reviewed and approved the project.

The SunZia line was among seven projects earmarked for priority review and approval by federal agencies under a White House initiative dubbed the Rapid Response Team for Transmission. The fast-tracked review of the SunZia project took almost six years to complete.

The Department of Defense has objected to the project's path, which runs near to the White Sands missile testing range in New Mexico. The project developer agreed to bury five miles of the power line to avoid interruptions to low-altitude flights.

The project involves building two parallel 500kV lines and five new substations, extending between the proposed SunZia East substation near Roswell, New Mexico, to the Pinal Central substation near Phoenix.

The developer's rationale for building the line is to provide more access to wind and solar resources in the southwest US. First Wind Energy, which soon will become part of SunEdison, is a major anchor tenant for the project.

Calendar 2020 round-the-clock assessments average about \$34/MWh at the Four Corners hub — a 14pc discount to the Palo Verde hub and an 18pc discount to southern California's SP-15 hub.