phoenix — The Bureau of Land Management has approved construction of a 500-kilovolt generation tie (gen-tie) approximately 90 miles west of Phoenix in Maricopa County. Power plant lines connect the facility where energy is produced to a larger electrical transmission system. The project will support the delivery of solar energy to the grid from a 150 MW Harquahala Sun solar power facility.

HV Sunrise, LLC requested a 30-year right-of-way grant to construct, operate, maintain, and ultimately decommission the Gen-tie line. The final route traverses approximately 1.84 miles of BLM land. High-voltage power supplies like the one approved today are essential to connecting clean energy projects on non-federal lands to the electrical grid.

When completed, the line will connect the Halquahara Sun solar farm, a solar farm located on approximately 1,000 acres in western Maricopa County, to the existing Delaney substation, both of which are on privately owned land. BLM has issued a notice to proceed, and construction on BLM land is expected to take approximately three months.

The BLM analyzed the proposed route in 2022, released a final decision record, and an environmental assessment that found no significant impacts. These documents are available at: BLM's National NEPA Registry.

BLM manages vast tracts of public land that have the potential to significantly contribute to the nation's renewable energy portfolio. To encourage the development of these energy sources, BLM provides space for the development of environmentally responsible renewable energy on public lands. Efficient deployment of renewable energy from our nation's public lands will help meet the Biden-Harris Administration's goal of a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035 and will help generate 25 gigawatts of solar power. This is critical to achieving Congress's directive in the 2020 Energy Act to permit. , start wind and geothermal power generation on public lands by 2025 at the latest.