On May 26, 2022, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it had issued the final approval for construction of the 416-mile Energy Gateway South Transmission line that will start near Medicine Bow in southeastern Wyoming, travel through northwest Colorado, and end outside of Mona, Utah.[1] The project is a step toward the Biden administration’s efforts to modernize power infrastructure in the West and permit at least 25 GW of solar, wind, and geothermal production on public lands by 2025. The Energy Gateway South Transmission line will support about 1,325 construction jobs and help integrate 2,000 MW of new renewable energy into the grid.

The approval, issued by the BLM Wyoming State Office in partnership with BLM’s Colorado and Utah offices, authorizes PacifiCorp to begin construction of the 500kV line. PacifiCorp said construction on the line should begin in June 2022, and the line is expected to be in service by late 2024.[2] The project is part of the utility’s larger Energy Gateway Transmission Expansion, a multi-year plan to add approximately 2,000 miles of new transmission lines across the western U.S. According to the press release, BLM worked with PacifiCorp, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, federal partners, and the states of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah to mitigate the environmental impacts caused by the construction of the line. In particular, the approach will offset impacts to the endangered Greater Sage-Grouse, lands with wilderness characteristics, and other natural resource values across all three states.

[1] https://www.blm.gov/press-release/biden-harris-administration-approves-construction-energy-gateway-south-transmission

[2] https://www.pacificorp.com/about/newsroom/news-releases/utility-regulators-grant-certificates.html