The Department of Energy announced Aug. 12 it will not proceed with three proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors selected in December 2024 under the Biden administration, eliminating a federal mechanism designed to break bottlenecks in the nation’s electricity grid.
The cancellation removes a key federal tool for grid modernization and reverses a major Biden-era policy that would have allowed the federal government to override state objections to high-voltage transmission line siting.
The Biden administration had designated the corridors to unlock federal siting authority under the Federal Power Act, targeting regions where transmission constraints were blocking both renewable energy development and grid reliability improvements, according to DOE records.
The decision is the second major energy policy reversal announced this week, alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s emergency order requiring Midwest coal plants to remain operational. Together, the actions signal a sharp departure from the previous administration’s electricity and grid policy.
Transmission constraints are widely identified as the single largest barrier to connecting new power generation, whether from wind, solar, natural gas or nuclear sources, to the existing electricity grid. Industry groups across the political spectrum have called for expanded transmission capacity.
The cancellation affects utilities, power developers and consumers in the regions where the corridors had been proposed. Without federal siting authority, new transmission lines must navigate state-by-state permitting processes that can take a decade or more.
Electric grid operators have warned that inadequate transmission capacity increases the risk of blackouts during extreme weather events and limits the ability to move power from surplus regions to deficit areas.