(KFSM) — The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to participate in a several hundred mile-long project to transfer energy across multiple state lines.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz announced that DOE would participate in the development of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Project, according to the release from the department.
A study done by University of Arkansas showed that the near-700-mile high voltage transmission line from Clean Line Energy Partners LLC would deliver 4,000 megawatts of wind power from the Oklahoma Panhandle region to utilities and customers in Arkansas, Tennessee and other markets in the Mid-South and Southeast areas.
Arkansas lawmakers U.S. Senator John Boozman, Senator Tom Cotton, Congressman Rick Crawford, Congressman French Hill, Congressman Steve Womack, and Congressman Bruce Westerman issued a statement, denouncing their approval of the project:
“Today marks a new page in an era of unprecedented executive overreach as the Department of Energy seeks to usurp the will of Arkansans and form a partnership with a private company – the same private company previously denied rights to operate in our state by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. Despite years of pushback on the local level and continuous communications between our delegation and Secretary Moniz, DOE has decided to forgo the will of the Natural State and take over the historic ability of state-level transmission control through this announcement.
We now will begin the process of careful review over DOE’s decision and will continue to address our concerns through any avenue necessary. Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 establishes specific conditions that must be met before this authority is used, and we expect the Department to release all details of their review so that our staff and Congressional investigators will be able to continue the process of oversight.
It is our firm belief that the DOE has overstepped its bounds, and reversing this decision through the passage of the APPROVAL Act remains a top priority.”
The University of Arkansas study stated that $441 million from that total is projected to be spent withing the state on the manufacturing and construction of the line and converter station.
The study also stated the Clean Line project in Arkansas will create around 855 jobs during the 30-month construction period (projected to be Q3 2016-Q4 2018), and 693 indirect or induced jobs.
The economic output in Arkansas during the construction period is estimated to be more than $660 million.
Clean Line has announced a $300 million agreement with Pelco, an Oklahoma company, to build the project’s tubular steel transmission structures. Clean Line has also identified three Arkansas companies to build infrastructure that supports the project, such as transmission conductors and glass insulators, according to a release.
