New Power Lines in Western U.S. Receive Federal Approval

Denver-based The Anschutz Corp., which is behind the wind farm and 3,000-megawatt TransWest Express, could begin work on both within a couple years if remaining approvals and right-of-way acquisition for the power lines go smoothly.

Portland, Oregon-based PacifiCorp, meanwhile, plans to increase reliability and capacity with its 416-mile, 1,500-megawatt Gateway South project along a roughly similar route ending in central Utah. Construction would begin in the early 2020s.

Gateway South will join the utility’s already-completed Gateway Central and planned Gateway West expansions crisscrossing the region.

“There’s still a lot of work left to be done. The company will be evaluating the timing of the next steps of these projects,” PacifiCorp spokeswoman Margaret Oler said.

The approvals to cross U.S. Bureau of Land Management land cap almost a decade of federal planning. About 60 percent of TransWest Express and 55 percent of Gateway South cross BLM lands; the power lines also will need to span a patchwork of private, state and other federal lands.

The Interior Department also announced an agreement with California to cooperate on expanded, streamlined efforts to encourage renewable power development.

“These efforts strengthen our commitment to work with state and local communities to unlock the West’s abundant renewable energy resources, create jobs and support development that makes sense for both the economy and the environment,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a release.

Not all were pleased with the latest two power lines moving ahead. They will destroy wilderness-quality lands in northwestern Colorado and eastern Nevada and disrupt habitat for the greater sage grouse, The Wilderness Society said in a release.

“Readily available alternative routes could have minimized or eliminated these impacts by following highways and designated utility corridors,” said Alex Daue with the group.