DOE Cancels 3 National Transmission Corridors — SkimNews
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- DOE cancelled three National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors — the Lake Erie–Canada Corridor, Southwestern Grid Connector Corridor, and Tribal Energy Access Corridor — that the Biden administration selected for review in 2024.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the corridors advanced a 'Green New Scam agenda' and that the designation framework 'proved ineffective in strengthening grid reliability and reducing electricity costs.'
- The cancelled corridors would have provided resource adequacy support to PJM Interconnection, cross-interconnection between Southwest Power Pool and WestConnect regions, and extra high-voltage transmission to advance Tribal energy and economic development.
- R-CALF USA praised the cancellation over concerns about grazing and haying lands, while the Environmental Defense Fund and Clean Air Task Force criticized it as turning down an opportunity to strengthen the grid and cut costs.
- EDF flagged a contradiction: DOE's own July National Transmission Needs Study said NIETC designation 'enables DOE and FERC to use valuable federal financing and permitting tools to spur construction or modification of transmission facilities.'
- DOE said the Trump administration is pursuing other transmission efforts, citing billion-dollar loans from its Office of Energy Dominance Financing to build, rebuild, and reconductor transmission lines.
Why it matters: DOE now argues the NIETC framework is ineffective, yet its own July National Transmission Needs Study endorsed that same framework as a valuable financing and permitting tool — a contradiction EDF flagged directly. With three corridors shelved, PJM resource adequacy support, interregional Southwest Power Pool–WestConnect connections, and Tribal energy development lose a designated federal pathway, leaving the administration's loan office as the primary remaining lever for new transmission.
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