[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 111 (Thursday, June 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32940-32942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-13943]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Southwestern Power Administration

Western Area Power Administration


Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line 
Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005

AGENCY: Southwestern Power Administration and Western Area Power 
Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for Project Proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department), acting through 
the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) and the Western 
Area Power Administration (Western), both power marketing 
administrations (PMAs) within the Department, is seeking Project 
Proposals from entities that are interested in providing contributed 
funds under section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) for 
Southwestern or Western's participation in the upgrade of existing 
transmission facilities owned by either PMA, or the construction of new 
transmission lines in the states in which either PMA operates.

DATES: Project Proposals will be accepted beginning on June 10, 2010 
and continuing until September 30, 2015, or until DOE accepts 
$100,000,000 in contributed funds under section 1222, whichever comes 
sooner. Due to the $100,000,000 statutory limitation on the amount of 
contributed funds DOE may accept under section 1222 through the end of 
fiscal year 2015, interested entities are encouraged to submit Project 
Proposals by July 26, 2010, when DOE will begin considering submitted 
Project Proposals. Project Proposals submitted after July 26, 2010 will 
be accepted and considered on a rolling basis, subject to the 
$100,000,000 limitation in contributed funds under section 1222 through 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Project Proposals should be mailed or e-mailed to DOE, with 
an additional copy mailed or e-mailed to the relevant PMA. All Project 
Proposals should be mailed or e-mailed to: Mr. Steven Porter, Assistant 
General Counsel for Electricity & Fossil Energy, Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; or 
[email protected].
    An additional copy of any Project Proposal involving Southwestern 
should be mailed or e-mailed to: Mr. James K. McDonald, Assistant 
Administrator, Office of Corporate Operations, Southwestern Power 
Administration, One West Third Street, Tulsa, OK 74103; or 
[email protected].
    An additional copy of any Project Proposal involving Western should 
be mailed or e-mailed to: Craig Knoell, Transmission Infrastructure 
Program Manager, P.O. Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228-8213; or 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning 
Project Proposals, contact Mr. Steven Porter, Assistant General Counsel 
for Electricity & Fossil Energy, Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; or 
[email protected]. For specific details about Southwestern's 
system in regard to Project Proposals involving Southwestern, contact 
Mr. James K. McDonald, Assistant Administrator, Office of Corporate 
Operations, Southwestern Power Administration, One West Third Street, 
Tulsa, OK 74103; or [email protected]. For specific details about 
Western's system in regard to Project Proposals involving Western, 
contact Craig Knoell, Transmission Infrastructure Program Manager, P.O. 
Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228-8213; or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Southwestern is an agency within DOE 
authorized under Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944 (16 U.S.C. 
825s) to market and transmit wholesale electrical power from 24 
multipurpose reservoir projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers to cooperatives, government agencies, and municipalities in 
several states. Southwestern operates and maintains 1,380 miles of high 
voltage transmission lines in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. 
Southwestern also markets power in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, 
Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
    Western is an agency within DOE and operates under the authority of 
federal reclamation laws, in particular section 9(c) of the Reclamation 
Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485h(c)), and consistent with section 5 
of the Flood Control Act of 1944 (16 U.S.C. 825s). Western markets 
power in Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, 
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, 
Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Western's 17,000-mile high-voltage 
transmission system carries electricity from 57 power plants 
encompassing 14 multi-purpose water resource projects operated 
primarily by the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, and the International Boundary and Water Commission.
    Pursuant to section 1222 of EPAct (42 U.S.C. 16421), the Secretary 
of Energy (Secretary), acting through the Administrator of Southwestern 
or Western, has the authority to design, develop, construct, operate, 
own, or participate with other entities in designing, developing, 
constructing, operating, maintaining, or owning two types of Projects: 
(1) Electric power transmission facilities and related facilities 
needed to upgrade existing transmission facilities owned by 
Southwestern or Western (42 U.S.C. 16421(a)), or (2) New electric power 
transmission facilities and related facilities located within any State 
in which Southwestern or Western operates (42 U.S.C. 16421(b)). In 
carrying out either type of Project, the

[[Page 32941]]

Secretary may accept and use funds contributed by another entity for 
the purpose of executing the Project (42 U.S.C. 16421(c)). For the 
period encompassing fiscal years 2006 through 2015, the Secretary may 
not accept or use more than $100,000,000 in contributed funds under 
section 1222. As of the date of this Notice, the Secretary has not 
accepted any contributed funds for section 1222 Projects.\1\
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    \1\ On November 21, 2008, Southwestern and Western issued 
separate Solicitations of Interest for Transmission Line Projects 
under section 1222 of EPAct (73 FR 70636 and 70638 respectively). 
Southwestern received no response to its solicitation. Western 
received five responses which were forwarded for consideration of 
financing under Western's Transmission Infrastructure Program.
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    In order to exercise the authority to engage in these activities 
under section 1222, the Secretary, in consultation with the applicable 
PMA Administrator, must first determine that a proposed Project 
satisfies certain statutory criteria. Accordingly, the Secretary 
requests that any entity interested in providing contributed funds for 
upgraded or new transmission facilities under section 1222 submit a 
Project Proposal that, at a minimum, contains all of the following:
    1. The name and a general description of the entity submitting the 
Project Proposal;
    2. A Project description which provides:
    a. An overview of the proposed Project, including the Project 
location, proposed routing, and minimum transfer capability;
    b. (For Proposals for Projects for non-DOE entities to participate 
with Southwestern or Western in designing, developing, constructing, 
operating maintaining or owning an electric power transmission facility 
and related facilities needed to upgrade existing transmission 
facilities owned by Southwestern or Western): A statement, supported by 
the best available data, demonstrating how the proposed Project meets 
all of the following three eligibility criteria:
    i. The proposed Project must be either:
    (A) Located in a national interest electric transmission corridor 
designated under section 216(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
824p(a)) and will reduce congestion of electric transmission in 
interstate commerce; or
    (B) Necessary to accommodate an actual or projected increase in 
demand for electric transmission capacity;
    ii. The proposed Project must be consistent with both:
    (A) Transmission needs identified, in a transmission expansion plan 
or otherwise, by the appropriate Transmission Organization (as defined 
in the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.), if any, or approved 
regional reliability organization; and
    (B) Efficient and reliable operation of the transmission grid;
    iii. The proposed Project must be operated in conformance with 
prudent utility practice.
    c. (For Proposals for Projects for non-DOE entities to participate 
with Southwestern or Western in designing, developing, constructing, 
operating, maintaining, or owning a new electric power transmission 
facility and related facilities located within any State in which 
Southwestern or Western operates) A statement, supported by the best 
available data, demonstrating how the proposed Project meets all of the 
following five eligibility criteria:
    i. The proposed Project must be either:
    (A) Located in an area designated under section 216(a) of the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a) and will reduce congestion of 
electric transmission in interstate commerce; or
    (B) Necessary to accommodate an actual or projected increase in 
demand for electric transmission capacity;
    ii. The proposed Project must be consistent with both:
    (A) Transmission needs identified, in a transmission expansion plan 
or otherwise, by the appropriate Transmission Organization (as defined 
in the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) if any, or approved 
regional reliability organization; and
    (B) Efficient and reliable operation of the transmission grid;
    iii. The proposed Project will be operated in conformance with 
prudent utility practice;
    iv. The proposed Project will be operated by, or in conformance 
with the rules of, the appropriate Transmission Organization, if any; 
or if such an organization does not exist, regional reliability 
organization;
    v. The proposed Project will not duplicate the functions of 
existing transmission facilities or proposed facilities which are the 
subject of ongoing or approved siting and related permitting 
proceedings;
    3. A financing statement, detailing the amount of funds the 
submitting entity would contribute to DOE for purposes of carrying out 
the Project, including the expected Project costs for which those 
contributed funds would be used, and the fiscal year(s) in which any 
contributed funds would be provided to DOE.
    Project Proposals will be evaluated by the Department of Energy and 
the relevant PMA to determine whether--based on the best available data 
provided by the submitter--the Project meets the following eligibility 
requirements:
    1. The Project meets, or will meet by the time the Secretary makes 
a final decision whether to proceed with the development of the 
proposed Project, the statutory eligibility criteria specified above in 
paragraph 2(b) for upgraded transmission facilities, or paragraph 2(c) 
for new transmission facilities; and
    2. DOE, in accepting the amount of funds the submitting entity 
proposes to contribute, would not exceed the $100,000,000 limit before 
September 15, 2015.
    DOE can at any time reject a Project Proposal, in whole or in part, 
that does not meet these eligibility requirements.
    If a proposed Project meets the eligibility requirements, DOE and 
the relevant PMA will conduct an initial evaluation of the eligible 
Project Proposals, considering criteria including, but not limited to, 
the following:
    1. Whether the Project is in the public interest;
    2. Whether the Project will facilitate the reliable delivery of 
power generated by renewable resources;
    3. The benefits and impacts of the Project in each state it 
traverses, including economic and environmental factors;
    4. The technical viability of the Project, considering engineering, 
electrical, and geographic factors; and
    5. The financial viability of the Project.
    In order for DOE to undertake an initial evaluation of eligible 
Project Proposals, submitting entities are urged to provide for 
consideration information in their Project Proposals, as described 
below. If the information described below is unknown at the time of 
submission, submitters are invited to provide a timeline estimating 
when any of the applicable information may become known or available.
    1. Public interest. A brief description of how the Project is in 
the public interest, including, but not limited to, advancing the 
purposes of EPAct.
    2. Resource description. A description of the energy resources 
(wind, solar, hydro, coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc.) for which the 
proposed Project would facilitate delivery; the size and location of 
the resources; schedule for resource development; specific location of 
load or markets; availability of generation-related ancillary services, 
including regulation and frequency response and

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operating reserves; a description of the entity's involvement in the 
development of the energy resources to be delivered; and/or any 
commitments to purchase the resulting energy and capacity from the 
proposed resource.
    3. Interconnection request. If the proposed Project involves an 
interconnection request, a description of the interconnection request, 
including, but not limited to, the names of the entities involved in 
the request, such as transmission facility owners, Regional 
Transmission Organizations, Independent System Operators, or any other 
relevant entities, and the status of that request, including queue 
position and estimated date the transmission facility owner(s) expect 
to be ready to provide transmission service.
    4. Transmission Rights and/or Service. Description of transmission 
rights or long-term service the entity may desire when the Project is 
completed.
    5. Participant roles. Description of the proposed role that the 
submitting entity, the relevant PMA, the Secretary, and any other 
Project participants might play in the development, ownership, 
operation, and maintenance of the Project.
    6. Prior experience. A brief description of the submitting entity's 
prior experience related to constructing, financing, facilitating, or 
studying construction of upgraded and/or new electric power 
transmission lines and related facilities for the primary purpose of 
delivering or facilitating the delivery of power generated by resources 
constructed or reasonably expected to be constructed.
    7. Participation of other entities. A brief description of any 
steps the entity has taken to seek interest from other entities in 
participating in developing the proposed Project or in seeking interest 
in subscribers for the additional transmission capacity resulting from 
the proposed Project.
    8. Financial viability. Verifiable information demonstrating that 
the entity is in sound financial condition and has the ability to 
secure the necessary financing to meet the Project's requirements at 
all relevant phases of the Project.
    9. Other information. Any other information that the submitting 
entity thinks would be useful for consideration as part of its Project 
Proposal.
    During or upon completion of the evaluation of an eligible Project, 
DOE and the relevant PMA may initiate negotiations and, subject to the 
advancement of funds by the requesting entity, undertake more detailed 
analysis--including National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 
(42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) scoping and environmental impact statement 
preparation processes--for any eligible Project that meets the 
evaluation criteria.
    Only an Agreement executed between DOE, the relevant PMA, and the 
submitting entity can contractually obligate the DOE or the relevant 
PMA to design, develop, construct, operate, maintain, or own, or 
participate with other entities in designing, developing, constructing, 
operating, maintaining, or owning, upgraded existing transmission 
facilities owned by either PMA, or new transmission lines constructed 
in the states in which either PMA operates.
    Environmental Compliance: In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and DOE NEPA Implementing 
Procedures and Guidelines (10 CFR part 1021), DOE has determined that 
this action is categorically excluded from further NEPA analysis. 
Future actions that the Secretary, Southwestern, and/or Western may 
undertake pursuant to EPAct section 1222 as a result of this request 
will undergo separate NEPA analysis on a project-by-project basis.

    Dated: June 4, 2010.
Daniel B. Poneman,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-13943 Filed 6-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P