The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a part of the Department of Interior (DOI), has given US company Starwood Energy Group the approval to build the 201 km, 500 kV, Ten West Link transmission line, which will have the capacity to deliver 3.2 GW of solar power from Arizona to California through the Sonoran Desert. The alternating current overhead line project will cost approximatively US$400m and is expected to be operational in 2023.
The BLM is processing applications for 64 solar, wind and geothermal projects in the western United States totaling 41 GW. The Bureau is also conducting preliminary reviews of 90 solar and wind applications as well as 51 applications for wind and solar energy testing on federal lands.
Greenlight for the Ten West Link follows recent approvals for construction of the Oberon, Arica, and Victory Pass solar projects in California with a total capacity of 965 MW. The BLM in May also issued a draft environmental impact statement for the 500 kV SunZia transmission project, expected to deliver 4.5 GW of mainly renewable energy between New Mexico and California.