Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ten West Hyperlink transmission line in Tonopah, Ariz. (AP Picture/Alberto Mariani)
TONOPAH, Ariz. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and two cupboard secretaries celebrated the beginning of building on a brand new high-capacity energy transmission line lately between Arizona and California, which they hope will result in of future photo voltaic power farms within the desert exterior. Phoenix.
Harris mentioned the enlargement of {the electrical} grid will enable the nation to deploy extra renewable power, an vital part in addressing local weather change.
“I feel we have turned the web page, and there is a consensus that it is time to take this disaster severely,” Harris mentioned.
The facility line often known as the Ten West Hyperlink stretches 125 miles connecting electrical substations in Tonopah, Arizona west of Phoenix and Blythe, California on the border between the 2 states.
President Joe Biden’s formidable plan to maneuver the nation towards extra renewable power requires hundreds of miles of latest transmission strains to get electrical energy from vacant land the place photo voltaic, wind or geothermal power may be harnessed to cities the place it’s used. Administration officers say a big, high-capacity line spanning a sunny stretch of the desert would encourage buyers to pour cash into large-scale photo voltaic fields in Arizona’s sunny desert to generate electrical energy. energy for Phoenix and Southern California.
Longer distance energy strains additionally enable for wider use of renewables even when the solar does not shine or the wind does not blow in a selected location and helps a renewable-heavy grid that may face up to adjustments in climate patterns.
“That is an instance of what we wish to see taking place throughout the nation,” mentioned Vitality Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who appeared with Harris together with Inside Secretary Deb Haaland and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.
Biden set a objective of slashing greenhouse gasoline emissions that heat the planet in half by 2030. A local weather regulation enacted final yr included $3 billion for brand new transmission strains, and Granholm mentioned the administration is working to expedite approvals.
California has formidable local weather targets, together with a plan to attain carbon neutrality by 2045. Implementation of the plan is determined by the state’s skill to transition away from fossil fuels and rely extra on renewable assets for power.
