The U.S. Dept. of Energy selected four “construction-ready” transmission line projects to support with a total $1.5 billion in funding through the Transmission Facilitation Program. The four projects would add nearly 1,000 miles of transmission development and 7,100 MW of capacity in Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, DOE officials said.
“You need only to look at the recent devastation of Hurricane Helene to know how the climate crisis is already straining our existing grid infrastructure at the precise moment when we need that infrastructure to be larger, stronger and more reliable,” said John Podesta, White House senior advisor, on a call with reporters.
The largest amount of funding is up to $425 million for Avangrid’s Aroostock Renewable Project in Maine. The planned 111-mile, 1,200-MW capacity transmission line would connect a new substation in Haynesville to the Independent System Operator-New England substation in Pittsfield, allowing power generated at three onshore wind farms and other potential renewable energy projects in northern Maine to reach users across New England.
Avangrid said in a statement that it plans to respond to an upcoming Maine Public Utilities Commission request for proposals to connect 1,200 MW of renewable energy to the New England grid. The company said it will include the $425-million capacity contract with DOE as part of its proposal. Avangrid anticipated the state will announce winning bids next year.
“By expanding our transmission infrastructure, this investment can make the electric grid more stable and reliable and allow us to harness affordable, clean energy generated right here in our own backyard instead of having to import expensive and harmful fossil fuels from out-of-state,” Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) said in a statement.
Connecting Texas
DOE also selected the 320-mile, 3,000-MW Southern Spirit Transmission project for up to $360 million. The line would cross from Rusk County, Texas, across Louisiana to Choctaw County, Miss., to connect the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator South and Southern Company grids. ERCOT’s isolation from other U.S. grids has been blamed as a factor in the widespread Texas blackouts driven by winter storms in February 2021. This would be the first connection between Texas and the southeastern U.S. grids, according to DOE.
“For a long time, we’ve stared at ERCOT and thought, ‘How can we build more resilience into a system that looks more like an island than an interconnected grid drawing on the resources in other parts of the country,’” said Ali Zaidi, White House national climate advisor. “This buildout is really transformational in breaking down the barrier between ERCOT and the rest of the country.”
The Cimarron Link, a planned 400-mile, 1,900-MW line between Texas County, Okla., and Tulsa, Okla., is set to receive up to $306 million from DOE. Officials said the line would deliver wind and solar energy to areas seeing growing demand in eastern Oklahoma and elsewhere in the Southwest Power Pool.
Phase 2 of the 1,000-MW Southline Transmission Project in New Mexico would receive up to $352 million from DOE. The 108-mile-long Phase 2 would extend from the 175-mile Phase 1 Southline between Hidalgo County, N.M., and Pima County, Ariz., which DOE officials selected for another contract last year in the first round of the Transmission Facilitation Program. Phase 1 construction is scheduled to start in the second half of 2025.
“The commercial and development progress for Phase 1 of Southline underscores the effectiveness of the Transmission Facilitation Program, and we are excited to move forward with Phase 2 to expand capacity and enable greater renewable energy integration in the Desert Southwest,” said Isaac Phillips, director of development for Southline, in a statement.
Southline Phase 1 was one of three projects selected last year for the first round of the $2.5-billion Transmission Facilitation Program, which was created through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. To fund the work, DOE buys capacity on the lines, and it plans to later recover funding by selling the capacity to customers. It can then invest the money back into new projects. With the newly announced selections, DOE said nearly all program funds are committed.
“By the early 2030s, DOE will have helped develop more than 3,000 miles of new and upgraded transmission line,” Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk said on the press call.
