Bureau of Land Management approves 415-mile Wyoming to Utah transmission line

The Bureau of Land Management granted final approval for the construction of the 416-mile Energy Gateway South Transmission line that runs from Wyoming to Utah.

This project will modernize the power infrastructure in the West, permitting at least 25 gigawatts of solar, wind, and geothermal production on public lands by 2025. Overall, it will help integrate up to 2,000 megawatts of new renewable energy resources into the grid while also ensuring the reliability of existing generation resources.

“BLM-managed public lands will continue to serve an important role in modernizing the nation’s infrastructure as we advance President Biden’s goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050,” Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said. “As we build toward a clean energy future, we must make sure we do so responsibly. Approving large-scale transmission projects like this are key to bringing renewable energy online while creating good-paying union jobs and helping bolster community resilience against the climate crisis.”

The approval authorizes PacifiCorp to begin construction of the 500-kilovolt transmission line, which will run from the Aeolus Substation near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, through Colorado and ends at the Clover Substation near Mona, Utah. The project will support approximately 1,325 construction jobs. It is part of PacifiCorp’s larger Energy Gateway Transmission Expansion, a multi-year plan to add approximately 2,000 miles of new transmission lines across the western United States.

The 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.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska.