The US Bureau of Land Management (Department of Interior) has approved the construction of a 1,178 km, 500 kV power transmission line, which will link four western US states and will provide 3 GW of transmission capacity. The TransWest Express Project will run from south-central Wyoming through north-western Colorado and central Utah before reaching its endpoint in southern Nevada.
The transmission line will carry electricity generated by the over 3 GW Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, which is located in Carbon County, Wyoming, and consists of 600 wind turbines. The project will include three linked segments: a 652 km, 3,000 MW, 500 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line between Wyoming and Utah, a 447 km, 1,500 MW, 500 kV high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) line between Utah and Nevada, and a 79 km, 1,680 MW, 500 kV HVAC line in Nevada.
The project is part the US administration’s goal to modernize power infrastructure in the western United States and achieve a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035.