Clean Line Energy has reached an agreement with the East Texas cooperatives that provides the cooperatives with an option to own up to 50 MW of capacity on the Plains & Eastern Clean Line and a portion of the project’s assets. The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will deliver more than 3,500 MW of low-cost wind power from the Oklahoma Panhandle region to utilities and customers in Arkansas, Tennessee, and other markets in the Mid-South and Southeast. The East Texas cooperatives include four generation and transmission cooperatives throughout East Texas — East Texas Electric Cooperative (ETEC), Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative (NTEC), Sam Rayburn Generation and Transmission Cooperative (SRG&T), and Tex-La Electric Cooperative of Texas (Tex-La) — and collectively serve ten not-for-profit distribution cooperatives serving approximately 330,000 member-owners. For many decades, the East Texas Cooperatives have made it possible for thousands of residents and businesses in their service territories to take advantage of the lowest-cost, reliable energy available.
“The agreement with Clean Line allows us to potentially realize the benefits from owning important new energy infrastructure while maintaining our commitment to provide long-term, reliable and affordable electric power to our members,” said Edd Hargett, general manager of ETEC.
The Plains & Eastern Clean Line represents a $2 billion investment in infrastructure that will provide low-cost renewable energy to the Mid-South and Southeast regions of the United States, areas currently lacking access to renewable, affordable energy. The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will help unlock more than $6 billion in investments in new wind farms that could not otherwise be built due to the limitations of the existing electric grid. The infrastructure project will create demand for thousands of jobs in manufacturing, construction, and operations while meeting the increase in demand for additional electric transmission capacity to deliver renewable energy.
“We are thrilled to sign an agreement with the East Texas Cooperatives allowing the option to own a part of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line. As the permitting and regulatory processes advance, we look forward to welcoming more participants in the project,” said Michael Skelly, president of Clean Line. “This is a great step forward for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line, and we commend the East Texas Cooperatives for their commitment to adopting innovative infrastructure in order to improve clean energy delivery while keeping costs low.”
Construction of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line is estimated to begin in 2016 and will require approximately two to three years to complete. The Plains & Eastern Clean Line is expected to begin delivering electricity as early as 2018 and will provide clean power to more than one million American homes, providing public benefits for years to come.
— Source: Clean Line Energy Partners
