The US has approved a portion of the 1175km TransWest Express transmission project, another milestone for the giant 3GW Chokecherry Sierra Madre wind farm in Wyoming.
The federal Forest Service this week issued a permit for a 30km section that crosses national forests in Utah.
Another federal agency earlier granted a right of way for about 60% of the route.
The TWE line will extend from south-central Wyoming to the Marketplace Hub near the Hoover Dam in southern Nevada, which provides interconnections to the California, Nevada and Arizona grids.
The Power Company of Wyoming meanwhile, has started road and infrastructure construction for a 500-turbine1.5GW first phase of the Chokecherry Sierra Madre wind project.
The developer has yet to sign a power purchase agreement but plans to export electricity to renewable energy hungry-California, which has an aggressive 50% by 2030 goal.
The transmission line and wind farm are owned by the Anschutz Corporation, a Denver-based privately held company headed by conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz.
Image: Pixabay
