BLM outlines route adjustments and timetable for Green Lake North transmission line in Churchill County

The Bureau of Land Management told the Churchill County Board of Commissioners it has adjusted the proposed Green Lake North transmission line alignment to avoid local sites and will open a short public comment period on a new alternative, officials said. "We worked with NV Energy and Churchill County's representative to move the line out of those Recreation and Public Purposes Act parcels," Brian Bitazoni, the BLM project manager, said during the presentation.

Bitazoni said the project would form the third leg of a statewide transmission triangle connecting eastern and western lines and that the proposed Green Lake North line would run roughly 235 miles between the Robinson Summit and Walker River substations. He told the board the 235-mile estimate places large economic and engineering constraints on alternatives: "A 235-mile long line is estimated to cost more than $832,000,000 at least," he said, and that fully undergrounding such a line would be far more expensive.

The BLM described several local route changes incorporated after working with county representatives and cooperating agencies, including a roughly 2-mile bypass around the Popcorn Mine and shifting the alignment away from the Fallon landfill and the Desatoya Mountains/Wilderness-study parcels. Bitazoni said some parts of the route fall inside a congressionally designated corridor within the Dixie Valley Training Area, which eased siting in that zone.

Environmental and engineering tradeoffs drove the evaluation of alternatives, the presentation said. The BLM said it considered Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50 corridors but did not analyze an I‑80 northern alternative because those routes increased the number of structures affected and raised costs. The project team also reviewed impacts to Greater Sage-Grouse habitat and responded to a June 2025 letter from Governor Lombardo recommending modification or removal of seasonal-construction restrictions; the agency developed a new "Alternative E" that would provide a 365‑day construction window in some areas to address legal and construction schedule constraints.

Bitazoni asked the board to expect supplemental documents to be posted and a 30‑day comment period the BLM hopes will begin March 27 and run through April 27. He said he expects BLM and Forest Service decisions in June followed by NV Energy obtaining permitting from the Public Utilities Commission, with construction potentially beginning in late 2027 if approvals proceed on schedule.

Commissioners asked for local detail on how much generation or load would be served inside Churchill County. "The capacity of the line is up to 4,000 megawatts," Bitazoni said, but he said NV Energy would need to provide specifics about where power would be delivered. Several commissioners and staff emphasized continuing coordination among BLM, NV Energy and county representatives as the supplemental documents are released for comment.

The presentation closed with the BLM inviting further questions and saying NV Energy staff were listening in but had not been advertised as co-presenters.