California grid operator approves power line connection to Idaho

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has approved a project to build a 285-mile (459-km) power transmission line that would allow it to import wind energy from Idaho and export excess solar power, it said in a statement on Friday.

The project, called Southwest Intertie Project-North, will connect to a 600-mile power line at Harry Allen, Nevada, and run to Midpoint, Idaho, giving the ISO access to about 1,000 megawatts (MW) of Idaho wind power capacity by 2027.

The ISO said the completed line will also allow it to export up to 500 MW of excess California solar power to Idaho.

The California grid operator's approval is conditional on the involvement of electric utility Idaho Power, which is expected to bear 22.8% of the joint project's overall costs.

The remaining 77.2% will be covered by LS Power Development subsidiary Great Basin Transmission, which is sponsoring and developing the $1 billion project.

California and Idaho public utility commissions must also finish evaluating the power line project, and LS Power must agree to hand it over to the ISO for operation after its completion.

The project can expect to receive the ISO's final decision toward the end of 2024, according to the statement, and from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by early 2025.

In May, the ISO approved a plan expected to cost $7.3 billion for 45 new power transmission projects over the next decade that will support the development of more than 40 gigawatts of new generation resources. (Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)