On behalf of the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), a coalition of labor unions and environmental organizations, collectively representing millions of members and supporters, we thank the President, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) for prioritizing the designation of route-specific National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs). To achieve our collective goal of achieving net zero GHG emissions economy-wide by 2050, clean energy and transmission deployment must grow rapidly. The U.S. will have to rapidly expand its existing energy infrastructure, with many studies suggesting that we need to increase renewable energy deployment at least 2-3 times from current levels.

A draft of the Department of Energy (DOE) National Transmission Needs Study recently found that the United States needs an additional 47,300 gigawatt-miles of power lines by 2035, a 57% expansion of the current grid. In particular, our grid needs high-capacity, long-distance transmission that can transport electricity from remote parts of the country to denser, more urban areas. To achieve this, the rate of transmission expansion will also need to increase 2-3 times. Corridors of National Interest will help strengthen and expand transmission infrastructure necessary to reduce carbon emissions, increase clean energy, and create and maintain high-quality union jobs across the country. Transmission deployment and grid expansion critically need the direction and certainty that these designations will create. 

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