U.S. Power Transmission 'Super-Highways' Moving Along

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Large HVDC power transmission projects are taking shape in the U.S., but many still need various permitting and permissions to proceed.

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Needed Infrastructure

The U.S. power sector has seen some drastic changes over the past few years: A renewables revolution has occurred, bringing substantial solar and wind power additions, and as power-hungry hyperscale data centers infiltrate the landscape, natural gas-fired power generation construction is very much on the rise, with waiting lists of years in effect for new turbine deliveries.

Accompanied by all these shifts in generation is the need to accommodate it with the accompanying transmission infrastructure. New power plants in new locations need a way to move that power, and developers are answering the call with plans for some massive high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission lines stretching hundreds of miles across multiple states.

Challenges

The large size of these projects brings larger permitting issues, requiring multiple authorizations from various state regulatory bodies. In addition, the "not in my backyard" syndrome is very much in effect for the massive pylons, rights-of-way and lines connecting locations. In fact, of the largest active high-voltage direct current (HVDC) projects being tracked by Industrial Info Resources in the U.S., only one is actually under construction while the rest are caught up in various stages of planning and permitting. However, that hasn't stopped one massive HVDC transmission project from being finished recently.

Wind Farm Link

The 525-kilovolt (kV) SunZia transmission line, which began operating this year, stretches around 550 miles from the 916-turbine SunZia wind farm in New Mexico (the largest onshore wind farm in the Western hemisphere) into Arizona, where it feeds into the larger grid to serve California and the Southwest. The SunZia transmission line was established to serve the single 3,515-megawatt (MW) wind farm, similarly to one of the largest U.S. HVDC 'super-highways' in development and also one of the ones furthest along in construction.

TransWest Express

The TransWest Express transmission line is being established in advance of the Chokecherry/Sierra Madre wind project in Wyoming--two adjacent wind projects from Anschutz Corporation's Power Company of Wyoming LLC that will add more than 3,000 MW to the grid. While some site preparation has started for the Chokecherry/Sierra Madre development, wind turbine construction has not yet begun and has previously been pushed out.

However, the transmission line is well underway, with construction progressing along its 730-mile route through Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. Readers can access details of the project, including construction timelines, key contact details, and equipment and service needs, by clicking here.

Needing Further Planning & Permitting

While SunZia and TransWest were developed to serve specific wind projects primarily by the wind farm developers themselves, most of the other substantial HVDC transmission lines being planned in the U.S. are to incorporate multiple new power sources and serve greater loads, as well as provide overall grid support for a network of existing and aging infrastructure.

While the developer of the 800-mile, 600-kilovolt (kV) Grain Belt Express transmission line, Invenergy, cleared an Illinois Supreme Court case earlier this year that paves the way for the project to proceed, it has yet to make all of the land acquisitions along the route, which would run from western Kansas to Indiana, traversing Illinois and Missouri along the way.

The project faced another challenge when a conditional commitment of up to $4.9 billion in financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy that was made under the outgoing Biden administration was cancelled following President Donald Trump's return to the White House. While Invenergy says it will proceed with the project through private financing, the loss of the funds has provided ammunition to its opponents, who question if the project has enough financing in place to reach completion as planned.

Most of the other substantial U.S. HVDC projects on the books are to link major regional grids, such as the planned Soo Green underground HVDC transmission line from Iowa to Illinois, spanning roughly 350 miles and linking the MISO and PJM regional transmission organizations (RTOs). The date for this project to begin operating has been pushed out in the past, but it has some advantages over other large U.S. HVDC projects: In addition to it being hidden underground for most of its route, nearly its entire route is along an existing rail right-of-way with the remainder along public highway right-of-way. Developers specifically tailored the project to avoid issues with landowners. While permitting is largely completed in Iowa, the project reportedly still needs environmental permitting from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and interconnection approvals from MISO and PJM.

Two other substantial U.S. HVDC projects would also link various regional grids but still face headwinds. The Southern Sprit project would link Texas' ERCOT grid with MISO South, but therein lies the problem. As the ERCOT grid is entirely within the state of Texas, it is not subject to federal oversight from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as are the other nation's other RTOs and interconnections. Linking to a FERC-regulated RTO could potentially pull ERCOT under FERC jurisdiction--something that doesn't sit particularly well with many Texans who benefit from and celebrate ERCOT's independence. Texas' own grid regulator, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, is notably against ERCOT losing its independence through interconnections.

The North Plains Connector project is probably the furthest behind in development than the other major HVDC projects discussed, although the project did just clear a major regulatory milestone in late August when the DOE issued its final environmental impact statement (EIS) supporting the project. The project is aimed not at specifically incorporating new generation would link the MISO, Western Interconnection and SPP regions to help the grids provide and compensate for each other during asynchronous demand schedules and weather events. This project still needs key permits from the two states it will traverse, Montana and North Dakota, as well as further federal environmental review.

Key Takeaways

• While the U.S. needs substantial new power transmission development, permitting and challenges are headwinds for developing HVDC transmission lines.
• The two large U.S. HVDC projects that have made the most headway are linked to specific wind farms and are being developed by the owners of those facilities.
• Many of the HVDC projects on the books not linked to specific projects are designed to provide connections between major regional grids.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).