Department of Energy offers conditional commitment for loan guarantee to develop new transmission line

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy has offered a conditional commitment for a $350 million loan guarantee to develop the One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line), the first transmission line project to be offered a conditional commitment by the Loan Programs Office of the Department of Energy. ON Line consists of a new 500 kilovolt (kV) AC transmission line that will run 235 miles from Ely, Nev., to just north of Las Vegas, with a new substation located at the northern end of the line. The project will carry approximately 600 megawatts (MW) of electricity, including renewable energy resources in northern Nevada, and will integrate existing transmission systems in northern and southern Nevada, improving grid reliability and efficiency, and reducing power costs.

"This project will help us tap into the enormous clean energy resources in the West, bringing renewable power from where it is produced to where it is used,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “This is a win for the economy as well as for the environment."

The ON Line project will be the first phase of the Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP) which, when fully completed, will carry approximately 2,000 MW of electricity and enable wind and solar resources in Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada to power the Southwest and California markets. The ON Line project is expected to contract about 85 percent of its parts and labor from U.S.-based companies and will create approximately 400 construction jobs.