Clean Line Energy said NextEra Energy Resources has acquired Plains and Eastern Clean Line Oklahoma LLC and all of the assets for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission project in Oklahoma.
Under the agreement, Clean Line Energy retains project assets east of Oklahoma, and NextEra Energy Resources owns only the project assets in Oklahoma.
Clean Line Energy added that the transaction will continue the project’s forward momentum and install a new sponsor to a transmission solution to the burgeoning wind sector in Oklahoma and the Southwest Power Pool.
A Clean Line Energy spokesperson on Dec. 22 told TransmissionHub of the deal, “We cannot disclose financial information.”
On why the deal took place, she said: “The goal of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line has always been to deliver low-cost renewable energy from the Oklahoma Panhandle to communities where there is substantial demand. We have been developing the project for nearly eight years in Oklahoma, and in that time market forces and energy needs have changed and eastern Oklahoma now presents a strong delivery point for Plains & Eastern.”
On whether the transaction requires any kind of regulatory approval or other approvals, she said, “No, not at this time.”
Clean Line Energy said in its statement that the Plains & Eastern Clean Line has support from a wide variety of organizations and associations including potential customers, state and county officials, landowners, local and regional economic development organizations, service providers and manufacturers across Oklahoma.
The project underwent a thorough environmental review with substantial stakeholder input and it received the regulatory approvals, as well as major environmental permits, necessary for construction, the company said.
Clean Line Energy also noted that it has acquired a significant portion of the right of way necessary to build the project, which, according to its website, is an approximately 700-mile HVDC transmission line that will deliver wind energy from the Oklahoma Panhandle region to utilities and customers in the Mid-South and southeastern United States.
The development and construction of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line is estimated to cost about $2.5bn, according to the site.
The direct current transmission line element of the project will have endpoints in the Oklahoma Panhandle near Guymon, Okla., and in western Tennessee northeast of Memphis, according to the site. The project will also include a converter station at each endpoint and an intermediate delivery converter station in Pope County, Ark., according to the site, which also noted that in addition to the direct current transmission line, converter stations and alternating current (AC) interconnections, the project would also include construction and operation of an AC collection system in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle regions.
