DOE cancels three transmission corridors, citing 'Green New Scam'
Federal backing disappears for lines once justified on reliability grounds, raising the political risk premium for interregional sponsors.
The Energy Department on Monday cancelled three National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designations, Utility Dive reported, with the agency citing “Green New Scam” as the rationale. The withdrawn routes were the same ones the department had previously justified on reliability grounds: resource-adequacy support for PJM Interconnection, transfer capability between the Southwest Power Pool and WestConnect regions, and a remedy for the absence of high-voltage transmission in Tribal areas.
The technical case for the lines has not been withdrawn; the federal endorsement has. The agency offered a political slogan, not a new engineering analysis. For sponsors of long-haul interregional lines, a NIETC designation is the federal government's formal vote of confidence. Its removal, with no technical explanation, tells them that federal priority can reverse on an election cycle.
The Tribal corridor shows the sharpest edge. It was meant to close a gap the department itself had documented: a lack of high-voltage transmission in Tribal areas. Federal recognition of that need is now withdrawn.
What this changes for developers is the risk calculus. The cancellation removes the designation, not the underlying proposals. But the signal is clear: transmission that depends on federal backing now depends on electoral outcomes.
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