Bureau of Land Management Approves Arizona-California Transmission Line Project

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 21, 2022

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has give the green light for construction of the Ten West Link Transmission Line project, which will facilitate increased renewable energy development and delivery in Arizona and California.

The BLM’s Notice to Proceed authorizes Delaney Colorado River Transmission LLC (DCR) to begin construction of the 125-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that will connect existing substations near Tonopah, Arizona and Blythe, California.  

The Ten West Link route traverses a region with some of the highest potential for utility-scale solar photovoltaic energy development in the nation, BLM said on July 14.

The project “will provide critical transmission infrastructure to support the development of future utility-scale solar energy resources and will boost the reliability of the bulk power system for millions of customers in Central Arizona and Southern California,” it said. 

The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2022.

DCR Transmission, LLC is a joint venture led by affiliates of Starwood Energy Group, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, Conn., which specializes in energy infrastructure investments.