The TRA approved the application of Plains and Eastern for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and granted Plains and Eastern the authority to operate as a wholesale transmission-only public utility in Tennessee, the company said.
The $2bn Plains & Eastern Clean Line 700-mile overhead, direct current electric transmission project aims to provide wind energy from the Oklahoma Panhandle region to utilities and customers in Tennessee, Arkansas, and other markets in the mid-south and southeast.
In addition to creating jobs in Tennessee, and helping to reduce air pollution, the project will provide affordable, renewable energy to more than one million homes annually.
Clean Line Energy president Michael Skelly said: "We are happy to take another step forward in the development of this important infrastructure project and believe there is an essential role that affordable renewable energy can and should play in the energy mix for Tennessee and the greater Southeast.
"We are pleased to locate the converter station in Shelby County to deliver to the TVA transmission system, and deliver enough clean energy to reliably supply over one million homes per year.
"The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will be an important economic contributor to the western Tennessee region and will help Memphis maintain its leadership as ‘North America’s Distribution Center’ for years to come."
