The Tennessee Regulatory Authority has approved operation of a transmission line into the state by Plains & Eastern Clean Line LLC, reports the Memphis Business Journal.
Plains & Eastern Clean Line is planning a 700-mile electric transmission project that will deliver wind energy from the Oklahoma Panhandle region to utilities and customers in Tennessee, Arkansas and other markets in the Southeast.
The project’s goal is to provide affordable, renewable energy to more than one million homes annually, create construction jobs in Tennessee and help reduce air pollution. Clean Line Energy Partners LLC, a Houston-based company, is investing $2 billion in the project, and the company has an exclusive contract in place to acquire 208 acres on Miller Road in Millington.
In early 2014, the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis & Shelby County approved an 11-year tax abatement for Plains and Eastern Clean Line.
…”Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry and its manufacturing division the Tennessee Manufacturers Association applauds this decision by the TRA on behalf of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line,” said Catherine Glover, president of Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “We believe this is a strong example of Tennessee moving forward as a clean energy leader, attracting new business investment and spurring job creation.”
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Further, from Wind Power Monthly:
Last year, Clean Line issued a request for expressions of interest in capacity on the transmission line. The company said fifteen potential customers submitted more than 17GW of requests for capacity.
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Southwestern Power Administration is carrying out an environmental review of the line.
In December, it issued the draft environmental impact statement which initiated a 90-day public comment period, scheduled to conclude in March.
As part of this, the DOE will host 15 public meetings in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas during January and February. Clean line said it expects construction to begin in 2016, with a construction time of two to three years.