U.S. T&D Buildouts Hit $2.4 Billion in Second Quarter

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. transmission & distribution (T&D) sector is changing along with the rest of the energy landscape, as power providers rush to update and add capacity in response to population shifts and the adoption of new energy resources. Industrial Info is tracking about $2.4 billion worth of active U.S. T&D projects that are set to kick off in the second quarter, about two-thirds of which Industrial Info's researchers believe have a medium-to-high likelihood (70% or more) of beginning as planned.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active T&D projects across the U.S. that are scheduled to begin construction from April through June, by market region.

One of the most ambitious T&D projects in the southern U.S., the Southline Transmission Project in Arizona and New Mexico, is preparing to begin construction after nearly a decade of Byzantine legal hurdles and regulations. The 280-mile, double-circuit, high voltage transmission line is designed to carry New Mexico-generated renewable energy across the some of the most heavily populated areas in the southern halves of both states, called the "Desert Southwest."

Three of the segments, running east, are new-build lines:

• a 73-mile stretch from the Afton Substation in La Mesa, New Mexico, to the Midpoint Substation in Deming, New Mexico; see project report
• a 53-mile stretch from the Midpoint Substation to the Hidalgo Substation in Lordsburg, New Mexico; see project report
• a 55-mile stretch from the Hidalgo Substation to the Apache Substation in Cochise, Arizona; see project report

Three more segments, running further east, are upgrades to existing lines:

• a 40-mile stretch from the Apache Substation to the Adams Substation in Benson, Arizona; see project report
• a 24-mile stretch from the Adams Substation to the Pantano Substation in Vail, Arizona; see project report
• a 16-mile stretch from the Pantano Substation to the Vail Substation, also in Vail; see project report

Other phases of the Southline Transmission Project are set to begin construction later in 2023 and in the first half of 2024. The project's developers, which include Grid United (Houston, Texas) and Black Forest Partners LP (The Woodlands, Texas), say the earliest phase of the project could be operational by 2026, with the full project online by 2027. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

California has made headlines in recent years for its aggressive renewable-energy push, especially in heavily populated areas like Los Angeles. But the Golden State also is trying to improve T&D in some of its rural and less-populated counties, including the northeastern areas that straddle California's national forests and Nevada's deserts. One such area, Lassen County, is at work on the Skedaddle Interconnection Project, which involves the construction of the Skedaddle Substation in Susanville and the Antola Switching Station in Wendel, which will be connected by a five-mile overhead line.

The Skedaddle project will be supported further by the Shaffer Switching Station in Wendel, which will help to bring in load from Nevada's power grid to Lassen County. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the five-mile line and the Skedaddle, Antola and Shaffer stations.

Utility-scale battery-storage is emerging as a major factor at new substations and switchyards that service U.S. T&D systems. Battery energy-storage systems (BESS) are known for their frequent pairing with solar- and wind-energy facilities, but T&D-attached projects like Portland General Electric Company's (PGE) (NYSE:POR) (Portland, Oregon) BESS unit at its Coffee Creek Switching Station in Sherwood, Oregon, which is expected to have a 17-megawatt (MW) capacity, are becoming more commonplace. The Coffee Creek project is expected to begin construction toward the end of the quarter. Subscribers can read more in a detailed project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active U.S. T&D projects that are set to kick off in the second quarter.

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) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).