Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting the construction of a 214-mile, 1,500 MW transmission line in Nevada and Utah that will create over 4,000 jobs and connect clean-energy producers with homes and businesses across the West. This transmission line is one of three projects supported by a $1.3 billion commitment from DOE to increase capacity, improve grid reliability, and expand access to affordable renewable energy.
“Nevada is generating record amounts of clean energy and we need to upgrade our power grid capacity in order to keep up with demand,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This new transmission line will connect clean energy projects across the region, lowering costs for Nevada families and supporting thousands of good-paying jobs.”
“Nevada is a leader in clean energy production. With the proper infrastructure in place, our state’s wind and solar energy can power our homes and help transition us away from fossil fuels,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to announce that a critical energy transmission line will be built using funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to deliver our clean energy to more homes, strengthen our electric grid with renewable sources and create thousands of good-paying jobs along the way.”
DOE will now negotiate a contract with the Cross-Tie 500kV Transmission Line to purchase a percentage of transmission capacity once the project is finished, help spur further investment and supporting the project’s implementation. This commitment is part of DOE’s Transmission Facilitation Program, a revolving loan fund established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help overcome the financial hurdles associated with building new, large-scale transmission lines, and upgrade existing transmission lines.
Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen have worked to support good-paying clean energy jobs and ensure Nevada receives funding to upgrade its energy infrastructure. Senator Cortez Masto ensured that the Inflation Reduction Act included robust funding to support renewable energy projects. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen helped pass, includes robust funding to strengthen the country’s electrical grids. This law also includes Senator Rosen’s Cyber Sense Act, which created a DOE program to test the cybersecurity of products and technologies used in the energy sector. Senator Rosen has led the push in the Senate advocating for protecting the solar industry from job-killing tariffs and both Senators have worked to support domestic solar manufacturing.
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