Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP) Transmission Line

Location: extending from Jerome County, Idaho south through eastern Nevada to just north of Las Vegas

Acres: 500+ miles long, and impacts to habitat are measured up to one mile on each side of its centerline. (We calculate that the SWIP line will occupy 421 linear miles in Nevada.)

Type of project: 500 kV AC transmission line

Developer: Great Basin Transmission, LLC (an affiliate of LSPower) and NV Energy

Location Description: When completed, the SWIP line--also called the "One Nevada Transmisson Line"-- will extend more than 500 miles from the Midpoint Substation in north Jerome County, Idaho south to the Harry Allen Substation, just north of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. Construction of the southern stretch will begin in the fall of 2010 and progress northward. Interior Secretary Salazar and Sen. Reid attended a ground-breaking ceremony on 10/19/10. (Here is the DOI press release about this event.)

Additional Information: NWP teamed up with Adam Bradley, one of the nation's most accomplished thru-hikers, to hike the 501-mile length of the SWIP transmission line in the spring of 2010. It was an incredible journey. Click here to learn more.
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Background

The line will extend through many habitat types through eastern Nevada. NWP assessed wildlife location data and movement corridors along a two-mile buffer either side of the line’s right-of-way. Habitat for sage grouse, mule deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, pygmy rabbits and the Desert Valley kangaroo mouse—one of a series of subpopulations found in several Nevada and Utah valleys and likely to be categorized as a unique species—will all be impacted in places along this line.

We recognize that the SWIP, or One Nevada Line, as it is also called, is a huge project that will be many years in the making. It extends into Idaho and will include many feeder projects – the details of which are unknown. Monitoring the cumulative negative effects on species such as sage grouse and mule deer—not just site-by-site impacts on local populations—is key and will take cooperation between state agencies, non-profits, sportsmens’ groups and energy developers alike.

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Female sage grouse. Photo by Tyler Roemer

Is this project "smart from the start?"

Construction of the SWIP line (also called One Nevada Line), which has been approved to begin before the end of 2010, is one of the first opportunities in Nevada to proactively engage in our “smart from the start” approach. Read our 1/11/10 news release here.

While we recognize that its construction will result in the loss of some lands and habitat, the SWIP line will also carry the very kind of “clean” energy we have been clamoring for – energy generated by solar, wind and geothermal facilities that will help reduce our state’s carbon output. It is the first step in Nevada’s march to a clean energy economy.

The SWIP also creates immediate opportunities to engage our congressional delegation to develop legislative solutions for wildlife habitat losses. In fact, we think there is the possibility of making real gains for habitat, well beyond balancing habitat loss. We are at square one of what we know will be a long process – to assess impacts to the land, opportunities for mitigation, and real transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The SWIP does not go through any Wilderness, Wilderness Study Areas or Forest Service Roadless Areas. We have had meetings with the developer and are encouraged by their willingness to work with us and NDOW to successfully re-route the line in three places to better avoid sage grouse habitat. NWP is committed to making the SWIP a “smart from the start” project in Nevada—making gains for clean energy and wildlife habitat. Construction headquarters will be based in Caliente, NV.

Pygmy rabbit. Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Mule deer. Photo by Dave Herr (U.S. Forest Service)

What others are saying:

On 10/19/10, Interior Secretary Salazar and Sen. Reid attended a ground-breaking ceremony for the southern half of the SWIP - also called the "One Nevada Line." Karoun Demirjian of the Las Vegas Sun wrote this 10/20/10 article, "Renewable energy transmission line to break ground this year." The Las Vegas Review-Journal published this story by Jennifer Robison, "Ground-breaking celebrates One Nevada transmission line."

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the project in August 2010, and this 8/20/10 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Jennifer Robison, "NV Energy, Great Basin sign agreement on power transmission line," describes progress on the NV Energy/LS Power (Great Basin) agreement.
This is a Mar. 25, 2010 article mentioning two possible "feeder" projects--solar developments--that may be built along the SWIP line in Lincoln County, "Solar and National Conservation Area Discussed," by Dave Maxwell in The Lincoln County Record.
Here is a Jan. 17, 2010 editorial in the Las Vegas Sun, “Reid: Ushering compromise, powering green industry,” by Lisa Mascaro.
This is a Jan. 12, 2010 Las Vegas Review-Journal article explaining the cooperating deal between NV Energy and LSPower, the two companies building the SWIP line, “UTILITIES: NV Energy adjusting its line, Intertie Project sought to transmit power,” by Jennifer Robison

Here is a link to the final Enviornmental Assessment (EA) released on 7/30/08 for the SWIP line.

Do you have additional information for us? If so, please send us an email.