$1.5B Federal Boost for Four Major Transmission Projects as DOE Unveils National Grid Study

Industry Discussions Energy & Utilities
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The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded capacity contracts of up to $1.5 billion to four major transmission lines under its Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP) to aid the transfer of 7.1 GW of new capacity throughout Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The DOE’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO) on Oct. 3 also released its final 800-page National Transmission Planning Study (NTP), a crucial roadmap geared to help regional transmission organizations (RTOs), utilities, and other stakeholders plan and build out the transmission system. The study concludes that if the U.S. were to implement its “lowest-cost U.S. power system portfolios” that meet future demand growth and reliability requirements, it would need a transmission expansion of up to 2.1 to 2.6 times the size of the 2020 system by 2050 and an expansion of interregional transmission on a magnitude of 1.9 to 3.5.

The Four Transmission Projects Focus Heavily on Reliability, Resilience

The four new transmission projects mark the GDO’s second-round selections under the TFP, a $2.5 billion revolving fund enacted by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). In its first round, unveiled in October 2023, the GDO awarded $1.3 billion in capacity contracts to three interregional projects: TransCanyon’s 1.5-GW Cross-Tie, spanning Utah and Nevada; National Grid’s Twin States Clean Energy Link, traversing New England and Québec; and Desert Southwest’s Southline Phase 1, which crosses Arizona into New Mexico.

Part of a Broader Grid Modernization Strategy

Biden administration officials told reporters the second round of TFP selections signals tremendous progress to cement U.S. grid modernization. “Like many things about the clean energy transition, building new transmission is extremely challenging and it’s also extremely urgent,” Turk said. “This program is a prime example of how the Biden-Harris administration is innovating to get it done, and it is working.”

But the officials on Wednesday underscored that the selections are only one part of a broader, multi-pronged strategy to kickstart a transmission expansion. Despite repeated calls from the power industry over decades for a holistic modernization of the bulk power system to enable more efficient and reliable power generation and delivery, action has often been piecemeal and catered to changing market and policy forces.

As POWER has reported, recent developments over the past year have injected fresh optimism, signaling meaningful progress toward the much-needed transmission expansion. The federal government recently launched Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative, which fosters collaboration between the federal government and 21 states to address grid challenges like rising demand and aging infrastructure.

The DOE also recently issued the 2023 National Transmission Needs Study, which emphasized the need for substantial transmission expansion, with 54,500 GW-miles of new transmission required by 2035 to meet future energy demands and support the clean energy transition. In May, it moved to identify 10 preliminary “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors” (NIETCs)—areas experiencing or facing capacity constraints. Additionally, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) Order 2023 introduced reforms to streamline interconnection processes, while FERC’s Order No. 1920 more solidly addressed regional transmission policy and the need for long-term transmission planning.

Glad to see the government pushing the upgrade of the grid with lots of money well spent.

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ISO Board of Governors takes actions allowing SWIP-North to go forward

10/07/2024

FOLSOM, Calif. – The California Independent System Operator (ISO) Board of Governors has approved a pair of provisions advancing a major transmission intertie that will deliver Idaho wind energy to California and the Southwest, while opening additional energy resources for Idaho.

The Board voted Friday to accept a revision to its earlier conditional approval of the 500-kilovolt (kV) Southwest Intertie Project-North (SWIP-North) that allows consideration of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to help accelerate development of the intertie. In a companion action, the Board also approved Great Basin Transmission, LLC‘s application to become a participating transmission owner in the California ISO.

Each of the actions is key to advancing a long-anticipated effort seen as a linchpin in strengthening Western electric grid connectivity, optimizing resource diversity, and giving California access to Idaho wind energy consistent with the California Public Utility Commission’s integrated resource planning.

The 285-mile intertie project, estimated to cost about $1.23 billion, includes development of a new transmission line from Midpoint, ID to Robinson Summit, NV. It would create an important transmission pathway by linking to a longer 600-mile line already carrying power from Robinson Summit to just south of Las Vegas, where it connects to the ISO system.

The DOE grant – a total of $331 million – will act as a bridge to speed the project’s construction. When the ISO Board conditionally approved participating in the SWIP-North project in December 2023, Idaho Power had begun negotiations with Great Basin Transmission to acquire about 23 percent of the entitlements – approximately half of the northbound capacity – for energy to move north along the interties. Negotiations and regulatory approval were expected to be completed by now, but funding negotiations are ongoing and Idaho Power still needs to seek regulatory approval, which would delay the project’s start.

Meanwhile, the DOE signed an agreement with Great Basin Transmission for the northbound capacity entitlements being negotiated by Idaho Power. The grant will initially fund Idaho Power’s share of the project, and the DOE will later sell the entitlements. For more information on the DOE grant, view the agency’s fact sheet.

Granting approval for Great Basin Transmission to become a participating transmission owner in the ISO is another critical step for the project, enabling an agreement for the transmission developer to give operational control of its southbound capacity and half of its northbound entitlements on SWIP-North lines to the ISO. That agreement will now go to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for review.