U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, center, takes part in a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for the TransWest Express transmission line south of Rawlins, Wyo. The transmission line will partly parallel the existing PacifiCorp Gateway West transmission system, seen in the background, moving electricity from a planned 600-turbine wind farm to California.
AP Photo/Mead Gruver
(Chris Woodward) – A new project that will transmit renewable energy across the Western U.S. broke ground this week.
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and local officials attended a ceremony Tuesday for the TransWest Express project, which broke ground in Carbon County, Wyo., and will move energy from Wyoming to California and improve grid reliability.
“The TransWest Express Project will play a major role in our nation’s energy security, ensuring that home-grown clean energy can form the backbone of our electric grid as we rebuild a stronger, more resilient transmission system,” Granholm said in a news release.
Gov. Gordon called the project another example of how Wyoming is a leader in energy.
“Today we celebrate the contribution our resources can make, and we are glad to be able to provide energy to primarily California and Nevada consumers, who want what Wyoming has to offer,” Gordon said. “Once completed, Wyoming will be home to the largest wind farm in the United States.”
The Biden administration has been pushing wind energy as a way of moving the U.S. away from fossil fuels toward alternative energy sources. Still, Gordon views it as one more source of energy in an all-of-the above approach that includes everything from fossil fuels to nuclear and renewables.
“There is room in Wyoming for all,” the governor added.
The project will connect with Wyoming’s PacificCorp system, Utah’s Intermountain Power systems, NV Energy in Nevada, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, and the California Independent System Operator.
The project is expected to be operational in 2027.
By
Chris Woodward | The Center Square
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