State and federal environmental regulators are considering the plan for 420 miles of new electric transmission lines. Once completed, the infrastructure will link the western and eastern electric grids and increase electricity transfer capacity between the two systems by over 1000 percent.
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the North Plains Connector $700 million in federal funding under the Biden Administration as a way to bolster the nation’s aging electricity infrastructure. The grant covers just over an eighth of the project's approximately $5 billion-dollar budget.
Brant Johnson with developer Grid United said the grant is back on track after a period of review under the new administration.
“We are continuing to talk with them, and the grant is making progress,” said Johnson.
The North Plains Connector will pass through Custer and Fallon Counties in eastern Montana on its way between Colstrip in Rosebud County and North Dakota. Johnson said the permitting process is halfway done and the North Plains Connector will reach operation in 2031 or 2032.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Montana Department of Environmental Quality are considering the project’s environmental impact as part of a certificate of compliance required to build large energy projects in Montana.
The state Department of Environmental Quality is taking public input through February 23.
