ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A proposed $2 billion transmission line that would carry electricity generated by renewable resources in New Mexico and Arizona to markets across the West is one step closer to being in service after clearing its final federal hurdle.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell was joined Saturday by members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation and other federal officials to announce the government’s approval of the SunZia project.
Jewell said that New Mexico is blessed with sunshine and wind, but those resources will remain stranded unless investments are made in transmission infrastructure.
SunZia represents a win for the environment and for the economy, Jewell said. “This is a sustainable industry that will create jobs.”
U.S. Rep Steve Pearce, a Republican whose congressional district includes the area where the transmission line would be, said the project will permanently damage national security. “Green-lighting the completion of SunZia along the chosen route is a reckless rush to judgment,” Pearce said in a statement.
The federal Bureau of Land Management also granted a key federal permit for the project Saturday. SunZia received a “Record of Decision,” which marks the end of an effort that started in May 2009. Disagreement over a portion of SunZia’s 515-mile route landed the project in limbo in 2013.
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