The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has approved the development of the Ten West Link Transmission Line between Tonopah, Arizona and Blythe, California. The planned energy infrastructure project, which will include the construction of a 125-mile-long 500- kilovolt transmission line, will assist the two states develop future solar energy projects and storage resources. It will utilise the US Department of Energy’s ‘Energy Corridor’ and utility corridors established by the US Bureau of Land Management.
The transmission line, when completed, will be capable of carrying 3.2 GW of electricity and will increase the reliability of the bulk power system for clients in Central Arizona and Southern California. Meanwhile, the BLM has given Delaney Colorado River Transmission permission to begin construction. Currently, the BLM is evaluating 64 utility-scale renewable energy projects submitted for development on public lands in the western US. The projects, if approved, will add more than 41 GW of renewable energy to the western electric grid.
Recently, the US Department of Energy announced that it would construct clean energy projects as part of a $500 million programme on current or former mine lands across the country. The initiative would support a number of technologies, including solar PV, microgrids, and/or energy storage, and at least two funded projects must use solar energy. In order to provide the projects, the DoE is investigating options for domestic solar manufacturers.
