(Deming) – A portion of a proposed $2 billion transmission line that would carry electricity generated by renewable resources in New Mexico and Arizona to markets across the West may get rerouted.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reported that the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project has submitted a tentative plan to the U.S. Department of Defense to move part of the line away from the White Sands Missile Range to avoid burying it.
Defense Department officials say the line's proximity to White Sands would interfere with military exercises.
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed an agreement in May 2014 that allowed SunZia to bury five miles of the proposed line that would go across the White Sands training range.
But SunZia officials say burying the line would cost $500 million.
As it stands now, the SunZia line would come into Luna County near Lake Valley, and a mid-point substation would be built approximately 10 miles north of Deming, just off Highway 26.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reported that the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project has submitted a tentative plan to the U.S. Department of Defense to move part of the line away from the White Sands Missile Range to avoid burying it.
Defense Department officials say the line's proximity to White Sands would interfere with military exercises.
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed an agreement in May 2014 that allowed SunZia to bury five miles of the proposed line that would go across the White Sands training range.
But SunZia officials say burying the line would cost $500 million.
As it stands now, the SunZia line would come into Luna County near Lake Valley, and a mid-point substation would be built approximately 10 miles north of Deming, just off Highway 26.
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