Clean Line's Plains & Eastern takes 'big step'

The government's role is seen as critical in getting the project through the siting phase.

Plains & Eastern – the most advanced among Houston-based Clean Line’s stable of huge transmission projects – envisages a 700-mile (1,130km) overhead direct current transmission line flowing as much as 4GW of wind from the Oklahoma Panhandle to customers in the southeastern US.

In its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Plains & Eastern, the Energy Department said its “preferred alternative” is to participate directly in the project.