The Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, has issued its Notice to Proceed for the TransWest Express Transmission Project – providing TransWest Express LLC with the final federal authorization needed to start construction on this critical energy infrastructure.
The TWE Project will be the Western power grid’s largest transmission addition in decades. The interregional, 732-mile high-voltage system will connect three planning regions, while adding 3,000 MW of transmission capacity to facilitate the delivery of diverse renewable energy supplies and to make the grid more reliable and resilient.
About two-thirds of the TWE Project is located on federal land. The NTP represents the last step of the BLM authorization process that began in 2008. It demonstrates that TransWest has fully satisfied the stipulations and requirements described in the BLM right-of-way grant and the BLM Record of Decision, which followed the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.Notably, TransWest has secured 100% of the linear rights-of-way for the TWE Project, as well as the necessary authorizations from the four states and 14 counties hosting the TWE Project.
“We appreciate the federal, state and local agencies and all of the other stakeholders who collaborated and diligently worked through the process with us to reach this day,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of TransWest, an independent transmission developer.
“Achieving the BLM NTP milestone provides important certainty that is needed as we work to complete other pre-construction steps such as finalizing our EPC contractor team. We plan on commencing construction activities on the TWE Project before the end of the year.”
The TWE Project has Siemens Energy Inc. on board as the HVDC technology supplier, conditional approval to join the California ISO balancing authority area, the initial capacity allocation process complete, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council rating process complete, and partnership agreements in place with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the International Union of Operating Engineers.
The TWE Project’s HVDC and HVAC segments will connect to the existing grid in Wyoming, Utah and southern Nevada. The project will provide the region with new access to wind-generated electricity from Wyoming, home of the best onshore wind resources in the continental United States. The first stage of the TWE Project is expected to be completed in 2027.
