HV power lines delayed due to court ruling
Energy officials started cooking up what they call "national interest electric transmission corridors" six years ago. That's when Congress proposed a law to create a fast-track process that would direct more electricity to big cities.
Some corridors would cut through the Southwest United States, including California's Mojave Desert. Almost immediately, environmental groups and state energy authorities objected.
The Wilderness Society and other activists said that federal environmental laws require more scrutiny when the government designates large swaths of land for construction. States including California objected that the federal Department of Energy didn't consult with local authorities.
More than a dozen separate lawsuits about these fast-track transmission corridors have been making their way through courts. Now a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with the environmentalists and the states.
The ruling means the energy department must back up and re-start studies about which cities need the most power – and which lands need the most protection.
Related News
Minnesota 2050 carbon-free electricity plan gets first hearing
ST. PAUL - Gov. Tim Walz's plan for Minnesota to get 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050 was criticized Tuesday at its first legislative hearing, with representatives from some of the state's smaller utilities saying they can't meet that goal.
Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley told the House climate committee that the Democratic governor's plan is ambitious. But he said the state's generating system is "aging and at a critical juncture," with plants that produce 70 percent of the state's electricity coming up for potential retirement over the next two decades. He said it will ensure that utilities…
