82 FR 37444 - Amended Application for Presidential Permit; Nogales Interconnection Project

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 153 (August 10, 2017)

Nogales Transmission, L.L.C. (Nogales Transmission, or the Applicant) has submitted two amendments to its application for a Presidential permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect an electric transmission line across the United States border with Mexico.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 153 (Thursday, August 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37444-37445]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16882]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-420]


Amended Application for Presidential Permit; Nogales 
Interconnection Project

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

ACTION: Notice of amended application.

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SUMMARY: Nogales Transmission, L.L.C. (Nogales Transmission, or the 
Applicant) has submitted two amendments to its application for a 
Presidential permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect an 
electric transmission line across the United States border with Mexico.

DATES: Comments or motions to intervene must be submitted on or before 
September 11, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments or motions to intervene should be addressed as 
follows: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected]; Rishi Garg (Program Attorney) at 202-
586-0258.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country requires a Presidential permit issued 
pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as amended by E.O. 12038.
    On April 8, 2016, Nogales Transmission filed an application with 
the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability of the U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit for the proposed 
Nogales Interconnection Project (the Project). Nogales Transmission has 
its principal place of business in Dallas, Texas. It is a subsidiary of 
Hunt Power, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, which in turn is a 
subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc.
    On May 19, 2016, DOE published a Notice of Application in the 
Federal Register for the proposed Project. In the initial application, 
the proposed Project would originate at the existing UNS Electric, Inc. 
(UNSE) Valencia Substation in Nogales, Arizona. A new, approximately 3-
mile, overhead, 138-kV alternating current (AC) transmission line would 
be constructed from the Valencia Substation west to the proposed 
Gateway Substation. An approximately two-mile, overhead, 230-kV AC line 
would be constructed from the proposed Gateway Substation to the 
proposed international border crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border.
    A 300 MW bi-directional back-to-back high-voltage direct current 
(HVDC) converter (i.e., DC tie) would be located at the proposed 
Gateway Substation, which would allow for an asynchronous connection 
between the U.S. and Mexico. The DC tie would be constructed in two 
phases, with each phase capable of 150 megawatts (MW) of bi-directional 
flow, for a total of up to 300 MW. Minor modifications within the 
existing Valencia Substation would be made to accommodate the 
connection of the proposed 138-kV transmission line.
    In the initial application, the U.S. portion of the proposed 
Project would cross the U.S.-Mexico border at 31[deg]19'57.844'' N., 
110[deg]58'35.908'' W., which is just west of the Mariposa Port of 
Entry. On January 9, 2017, Nogales Transmission amended its application 
to modify the proposed international border crossing to a location 
approximately 25 feet to the east at 31[deg]19'57.846'' N., 
110[deg]58'35.620'' W. A portion of the new, approximately two-mile, 
overhead, 230-kV AC transmission line extending south from the proposed 
Gateway Substation to the proposed international border crossing was 
also proposed to be shifted approximately 25 feet to the east (the 
location of the proposed right-of-way [ROW] was not proposed to be 
changed).
    On May 31, 2017, DOE received a letter from Nogales Transmission 
amending its initial Presidential permit application a second time to 
reflect

[[Page 37445]]

changes to the proposed electrical configuration, which has been 
designed to make the proposed Project more cost-effective for the 
Applicant.
    The reconfiguration would connect the proposed Project to the UNSE 
transmission system at the proposed Gateway Substation rather than at 
the existing Valencia Substation, as initially proposed. A new, 
approximately 3-mile, overhead double-circuit 138-kV AC transmission 
line would be constructed on new monopoles. The first circuit would 
originate at an existing pole 1,900 feet west of the existing Valencia 
Substation and terminate at the proposed Gateway Substation. At this 
origination point, the existing UNSE ``Vail to Valencia'' transmission 
line would be severed and connected to this new line, thereby 
converting the existing UNSE ``Vail to Valencia'' transmission line to 
the ``Vail to Gateway'' transmission line. The second circuit would 
originate at the proposed Gateway Substation and proceed in an easterly 
direction to the same pole (1,900 feet west of the existing Valencia 
Substation), where it would connect with the existing portion of the 
UNSE 138-kV ``Vail to Valencia'' transmission line that travels east to 
the existing Valencia Substation. This circuit would constitute the new 
``Gateway to Valencia'' transmission line and serve as the source for 
Valencia. The existing UNSE Vail to Valencia line currently connects to 
the Valencia Substation; this line is the current (and only) source of 
power for the City of Nogales. The Valencia Substation is the first 
existing substation within the U.S. The Nogales Interconnection project 
would change the configuration such that the Vail to Valencia line 
would become the Vail to Gateway line. Because the Valencia Substation 
still needs a source of power, the Gateway to Valencia line would be 
built. Minor modifications to relaying equipment within the Valencia 
Substation would be made to accommodate this Gateway to Valencia line.
    In addition to the DC tie at the Gateway site as initially proposed 
(now referred to as the Nogales Gateway Substation), on the eastern 
portion of the Gateway site, a 138-kV UNSE Gateway Substation would 
consist of a three bay breaker and a half open air configuration to 
accommodate the line from Vail, the line to Valencia, and the 
connection to the DC tie, as well as a future UNSE distribution 
transformer. The Nogales Gateway Substation and the UNSE Gateway 
Substation would be located on the Gateway site and collectively 
referred to as the Gateway Substation. There were no additional changes 
proposed in this amendment to the location of the new, approximately 
two-mile, overhead, 230-kV AC transmission line extending south from 
the proposed Gateway Substation to the proposed international border 
crossing. The proposed reconfiguration would not affect the location of 
the proposed route or ROW requirements, but certain changes were 
proposed to be made to the conductors and towers. A comparison of the 
initial configuration and the reconfiguration for each of the 
alternative routes is provided in the application amendment.
    The draft Environmental Assessment contains relevant figures in 
Chapters 1 and 2. It can be downloaded from the Document Library page 
on the project Web site: http://nogalesinterconnectionea.com/.
    The Proposed Project One-line Diagram (Figure 2.4-5) illustrates 
the details of the configuration as proposed by the amendment. A side-
by-side comparison of the reconfiguration to the original application 
is also in the appendix to the Applicant's amendment (which can also be 
downloaded from the project Web site).
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Any person seeking 
to become a party to this proceeding must file a motion to intervene at 
the address provided above in accordance with Rule 214 of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 
385.214). Two copies of each comment or motion to intervene should be 
filed with DOE on or before the date listed above.
    Additional copies of such motions to intervene also should be filed 
directly with: Enrique Marroquin, Nogales Transmission, L.L.C., 1900 
North Akard Street, Dallas, Texas 75201.
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action is in the public interest. In making 
that determination, DOE considers the environmental impacts of the 
proposed project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, determines the project's impact on electric 
reliability by ascertaining whether the proposed project would 
adversely affect the operation of the U.S. electric power supply system 
under normal and contingency conditions, and any other factors that DOE 
may also consider relevant to the public interest. DOE also must obtain 
the concurrences of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before taking final action on a Presidential permit application.
    Copies of this application amendment will be made available for 
public inspection and copying (upon request) at the address provided 
above, and by accessing the program Web site at: http://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 3, 2017.
Christopher A. Lawrence,
Electricity Policy Analyst, Transmission Permitting and Technical 
Assistance Division, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2017-16882 Filed 8-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P