Construction has started on a power line between California and Arizona that’s going to have the capacity to carry 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy.

Ten West Link, as the 125-mile line is known, will be a new 500 kV high voltage transmission line that will connect electrical substations in Tonopah, in central Arizona, and Blythe, in Southern California.

It’s going to enable the two states to support future utility-scale solar development, boost reliability, and enhance system efficiency.

The new power line uses the US Department of Energy’s “Energy Corridor” and the US Bureau of Land Management’s-designated utility corridors, and it bypasses the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and all major population centers. 

National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi said:

The local IBEW workers putting steel in the ground for the Ten West project are delivering on President Biden’s vision for cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy for all Americans.

Ten West Link is expected to be online by the end of 2023, and it will be under operational control of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).

The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management is currently processing 64 utility-scale onshore clean energy projects – more than 41,000 MW of renewable energy – proposed on public lands in the US West, including solar, wind, and geothermal, as well as interconnected generation-tie lines that are needed for renewable projects proposed on non-federal land.

Read more: An Arizona utility just lost in appeals court for price gouging rooftop solar customers

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