Eddy County commissioners back resolution opposing DOE transmission corridor, seek cooperating-agency role

The Eddy County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt Resolution R-25-18, formally asking the U.S. Department of Energy to treat the county as a cooperating agency in the agency’s review of a proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor and stating opposition to the corridor as published in the Federal Register.

County Manager Ballard told commissioners the DOE notice, published Dec. 16 with comments due Feb. 14, proposes an ambiguous corridor alignment across southeast New Mexico and allows widths that could range from about 5 miles to 25 miles or larger. Ballard said the notice does not explain how DOE chose the route, that the agency did not consult local governments, and that the corridor could host generation or storage projects—such as wind, solar or battery facilities—on private land. He said DOE…