Department of Interior Approves Interstate Transmission Line Project in Wyoming and Idaho

Date: 11/12/2013

As part of President Obama's comprehensive strategy for transforming the nation's electric grid and spurring renewable energy development, the Department of the Interior approved the majority of the proposed Gateway West Transmission Line Project, a 990-mile, high-voltage line that will provide up to 1,500 megawatts of transmission capacity in southern Wyoming and southern Idaho. Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power proposed the line as 10 segments; after extensive environmental review, the Bureau of Land Management approved eight segments and deferred a decision on the other two pending additional stakeholder outreach and public engagement. Construction for the approved segments will begin once all necessary conditions identified in the right-of-way grant are met.