80 FR 23520 - Application for Proposed Project for Clean Line Plains & Eastern Transmission Line

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 81 (April 28, 2015)

The Department of Energy (DOE) requests public comment on the first complete application submitted in response to its June 10, 2010 Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in the Federal Register (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC, submitted an application for its Plains & Eastern Clean Line project. The project would include an overhead <plus-minus>600-kilovolt (kV) high voltage, direct current electric transmission system and associated facilities with the capacity to deliver approximately 3,500 megawatts primarily from renewable energy generation facilities in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions to load-serving entities in the Mid-South and Southeast United States via an interconnection with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrical grid. DOE has concluded that Clean Line's application was responsive to the 2010 RFP and is making it available for public review.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23520-23522]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09941]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. TPF-01]


Application for Proposed Project for Clean Line Plains & Eastern 
Transmission Line

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Application.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) requests public comment on the 
first complete application submitted in response to its June 10, 2010 
Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line Projects 
Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in the Federal 
Register (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean 
Line Energy Partners, LLC, submitted an application for its Plains & 
Eastern Clean Line project. The project would include an overhead 
600-kilovolt (kV) high voltage, direct current electric 
transmission system and associated facilities with the capacity to 
deliver approximately 3,500 megawatts

[[Page 23521]]

primarily from renewable energy generation facilities in the Oklahoma 
and Texas Panhandle regions to load-serving entities in the Mid-South 
and Southeast United States via an interconnection with the Tennessee 
Valley Authority electrical grid. DOE has concluded that Clean Line's 
application was responsive to the 2010 RFP and is making it available 
for public review.

DATES: Comments on the application must be submitted on or before June 
12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed as follows: 1222 
Program, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585. Electronic comments can be emailed to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Colamaria at 202-287-5387 or 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 1222 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (42 U.S.C. 16421), the Secretary of Energy, 
acting through the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) or 
the Western Area Power Administration (Western), has the authority to 
design, develop, construct, operate, maintain, or own, or participate 
with other entities in designing, developing, constructing, operating, 
maintaining, or owning two types of projects: (a) Electric power 
transmission facilities and related facilities needed to upgrade 
existing transmission facilities owned by Southwestern or Western (42 
U.S.C. 16421(a)), or (b) new electric power transmission facilities and 
related facilities located within any State in which Southwestern or 
Western operates (42 U.S.C. 16421(b)). In carrying out either type of 
section 1222 project (Project), the Secretary may accept and use funds 
contributed by another entity for the purpose of executing the Project 
(42 U.S.C. 16421(c)).
    In order to exercise the authority to engage in these activities 
under section 1222, the Secretary, in consultation with the applicable 
Power Marketing Administrator, must first determine that a proposed 
Project satisfies certain statutory criteria:
    i. The proposed Project must be either:
    (A) Located in an area designated under section 216(a) of the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)) and will reduce congestion of 
electric transmission in interstate commerce; or
    (B) Necessary to accommodate an actual or projected increase in 
demand for electric transmission capacity;
    ii. The proposed Project must be consistent with both:
    (A) Transmission needs identified, in a transmission expansion plan 
or otherwise, by the appropriate Transmission Organization (as defined 
in the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) if any, or approved 
regional reliability organization; and
    (B) Efficient and reliable operation of the transmission grid;
    iii. The proposed Project will be operated in conformance with 
prudent utility practice;
    iv. The proposed Project will be operated by, or in conformance 
with the rules of, the appropriate Transmission Organization, if any; 
or if such an organization does not exist, regional reliability 
organization; and
    v. The proposed Project will not duplicate the functions of 
existing transmission facilities or proposed facilities which are the 
subject of ongoing or approved siting and related permitting 
proceedings.
    In June 2010, DOE issued Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded 
Transmission Line Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). To be responsive to the 2010 RFP, the 
application must demonstrate how the proposed Project meets all of the 
above statutory criteria, as well as several additional criteria, 
including, but not limited to, the following:
    1. Whether the Project is in the public interest;
    2. Whether the Project will facilitate the reliable delivery of 
power generated by renewable resources;
    3. The benefits and impacts of the Project in each state it 
traverses, including economic and environmental factors;
    4. The technical viability of the Project, considering engineering, 
electrical, and geographic factors; and
    5. The financial viability of the Project.
    In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean Line Energy Partners LLC of 
Houston, Texas, the parent company of Plains and Eastern Clean Line LLC 
and Plains and Eastern Clean Line Oklahoma LLC (collectively referred 
to with its subsidiaries as Clean Line or the Applicant) submitted a 
proposal to DOE in July 2010 for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line 
Project. In August 2011, Clean Line modified the proposal. In December 
2014, DOE requested additional information from the Applicant to 
supplement and update its original application. This ``Part II'' 
application and other documentation are now available for a 45-day 
public comment period.
    Clean Line proposes to construct an overhead 600-
kilovolt (kV), high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission 
system and associated facilities with the capacity to deliver 
approximately 3,500 megawatts primarily from renewable energy 
generation facilities in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions to 
load-serving entities in the Mid-South and Southeast United States via 
an interconnection with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrical grid. 
Major associated facilities identified in the application consist of 
converter stations; an approximate 720-mile, 600kV HVDC 
transmission line; an alternating current (AC) collection system; and 
access roads. Clean Line requests that Southwestern participate in 
development of the facilities in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As part of 
their environmental review of the project pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), DOE has identified and analyzed 
potential environmental impacts for several additional alternatives. 
These alternatives include an Arkansas converter station (capable of 
supplying an additional 500 megawatts of energy into the Arkansas 
electrical grid) and alternative routes for the HVDC transmission line.
    Procedural Matters: Prior to making a determination whether or not 
to participate in the proposed Project, DOE, in consultation with 
Southwestern, must evaluate the proposed Project for compliance with 
section 1222 of EPAct, the criteria in the 2010 RFP, and NEPA. On 
December 21, 2012, DOE issued a Notice of Intent to Draft an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS; 77 FR 75623) pursuant to NEPA. On 
December 17, 2014, DOE issued a Notice of Availability and announced 
public hearings for the Draft EIS (79 FR 75132). DOE made the Draft EIS 
available on DOE's Plains & Eastern EIS Web site 
(www.PlainsandEasternEIS.com) and the DOE NEPA Web site 
(www.energy.gov/nepa). The Draft EIS assesses the potential 
environmental effects of participating in the proposed Project. DOE 
hosted fifteen public hearings across the proposed Project area. The 
public comment period for the NEPA review is scheduled to end on April 
20, 2015. DOE will address the public comments in the Final EIS, which 
will inform the Department's determination.
    In addition to conducting a NEPA review, DOE is conducting due

[[Page 23522]]

diligence on other factors related to the statutory criteria identified 
above. DOE's review will include making all required statutory findings 
and will consider all criteria listed in section 1222 of EPAct, as well 
as all factors included in DOE's 2010 RFP. This due diligence is the 
reason for today's notice. DOE is requesting comments on whether the 
proposed Project meets the statutory criteria and the factors 
identified within the 2010 RFP.
    Any person may comment on the application by filing such comment at 
the address provided above. Copies of the application are available by 
accessing the program Web site at http://www.energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/transmission-planning/section-1222-0.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2015.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery 
and Energy Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2015-09941 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
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