Carbon County Commissioners updated on long-anticipated energy project

An update on the TransWest Express Transmission Project was given by Kelly Cummins, Vice President of Land and Environmental Services at the August 1 Board of Carbon County Commissioners regular meeting. She told the Commissioners that the project is 732 miles, crossing four states, fourteen counties, three national forests, and nine BLM offices. The project has taken about 12 years, but they are now in the construction phase. Cummins said the final configuration of the project is 3,000 megawatts of direct current transmission from Wyoming into Utah and 1,500 megawatts of alternating current transmission from Utah into Nevada. The first phase of construction will construct all the way from Wyoming into Nevada, with 1,500 megawatts and then the second phase will upgrade the DC portion of the transmission line from Wyoming to Utah to get that additional megawatts, bringing the project to 3,000.

According to their website, the TransWest Express Transmission Project will provide the transmission infrastructure and transmission capacity necessary to reliably and cost-effectively deliver approximately 20,000 GWh/yr of clean and sustainable electric energy generated in Wyoming to the Desert Southwest region, which for the purposes of the project is Arizona, Nevada and southern California. The TWE Project will make Wyoming's wind-generated electricity available to utilities to serve citizens in more densely populated regions. This electric power is roughly equivalent to three-fourths of the electric power used in Los Angeles alone. In addition, many experts recognize that providing more connectivity between geographically diverse and complementary renewable resources can help smooth grid operations as the grid grows "greener." Using Wyoming wind to help fill in the times when California's wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining, for example, helps utilities reduce their reliance on traditional peak-priced fuels and therefore helps contribute to California's GHG emissions reduction goals as well as their renewable energy goals. The bidirectional TWE Project also could provide export capacity for Desert Southwest solar resources, particularly during over generation events.

TransWest will pay property taxes in every state and county that the transmission line passes through. Based on the route and assuming the counties' average tax rates and 2017 mill levies, TransWest estimates nearly $900 million will be paid in property taxes over the initial project life. The estimate shown in the table on the website estimates that the cost in Wyoming is projected to be $1.19 billion dollars, with an estimated $260 million paid over 50 years, and an estimated sales/use tax paid of $53.5 million. Other revenues, according to the website, may be spurred by existing or new businesses investing in new equipment or services to support the construction, as well as additional sales/use/lodging tax revenues paid by workers staying in local hotels, campgrounds and RV parks.

The next Carbon County Commissioners meeting will be held at the Baggs Higher Education Center on August 15 at 2 p.m.