Invenergy and New Mexico to partner on 'critically needed' 4GW US renewables power line
The 644km North Path project will help unlock an estimated $11bn in untapped wind and solar energy investment potential in the western US state
Invenergy and New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA), an independent state authority, are entering into agreement to jointly develop a $2bn power line capable of moving 4GW of solar and wind energy within the US desert Southwest.
The future public-private partnership’s proposed 644km (400-mile) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) conduit called North Path will help to unlock a share of what RETA has estimated is $11bn in untapped renewable energy investment potential in the state.
The line will originate in northeastern New Mexico adjacent to Oklahoma and Texas, collecting power from multiple future renewable energy projects.
From there, the developers envision a mild U-shaped path across the state to Navajo tribal lands in the far western Four Corners region. North Path’s terminus will tie into an existing electrical switchyard that serves a coal-fired plant, among the nation’s largest but due to be decommissioned by 2031.
The switchyard is connected to several 345kV and 500kV transmission lines that feed certain western US power markets as well as New Mexico internally. North Path will carry electricity for the equivalent of two million homes, according to the future partners.
RETA chairman Bob Busch said the agency agreed to partner with Invenergy after a “promising feasibility study and initial public outreach,” calling North Path a “critically needed pathway for moving low-cost clean energy to consumers across the state and region who are demanding it.”
The project’s timeline envisions multiple milestones toward projected completion in 2028. Invenergy and RETA expect to begin applying for federal, state, and local government permits this year, in anticipation this will be a three-year process.
Obtaining approvals is arguably the most challenging aspect for North Path or any long-haul bulk transmission project in the US, particularly those by non-utility sponsors. It can take a decade or longer to win a final green light – if then. Most backers won’t tie up capital that long, a reason many projects stall or collapse.
North Path and several others will be an acid test for President Joe Biden’s administration which has pledged to facilitate federal transmission planning and permitting, a necessary step to accessing sufficient untapped renewable energy resources to help achieve his 2035 a carbon-free electric grid goal.
Invenergy and RETA also hope to have acquired all land agreements and right-of-way easements by the end of 2025.
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