By Edward Klump, Peter Behr
E&E News
10/28/2021
After a dozen years, multiple energy crises, regulatory delays and political turnover, construction of a novel 400-mile power line connecting Texas to the Southeast is finally within sight.
The progress is welcome news for clean energy advocates who believe Southern Cross Transmission and similar long-haul projects are critical to a future in which Texas and the U.S. grid move immense amounts of wind and solar energy to decarbonize the nation’s electric infrastructure.
Millions of Texas customers lost electricity during a winter storm in February as the state faced a shortage of available generation. A proposal called Southern Cross Transmission, if built, could help connect Texas’ main power grid to the U.S. Southeast. Matthew T Rader/Wikipedia
But the $2 billion project, proposed by Pattern Energy Group LP, likely won’t be ready until 2026 at the earliest, if construction starts in 2023.