Portland, Maine (Platts)--24Oct2008

Arizona stakeholders have mapped out a plan to build a series of power
lines to reach six renewable energy zones with capacity of about 7,750 MW.

A plan the Arizona Renewable Transmission Task Force developed calls for
adding 445 miles of 500-kV line and 247 miles of 230-kV line at a cost of
about $1.6 billion, Peter Krzykos, the task force chairman and transmission
supervisor for Arizona Public Service Commission, said Thursday during an
Arizona Corporation Commission meeting.

The plan would allow the state to tap its entire renewable potential.
Arizona has the potential for 4,650 MW of solar, with most coming in the
southwestern part of the state. It also has four zones with renewable
potential of about 3,100 MW, mainly wind.

The ACC called for the plan two years ago as part of the state's
transmission planning process. Other western states are in the early stages of
mapping out potential transmission routes to link up with renewable zones.

ACC Commissioner Kristin Mayes is eager to develop the state's renewable
resources. "Arizona has the opportunity to be the provider of solar power to
the Southwest," she said, by developing about 4,300 MW in the southwestern
part of the state.

Since the task force began gathering data, there has been even more
interest on the part of solar developers pushing potential renewable capacity
in the state to about 9,000 MW, Krzykos said. Interconnecting the additional
capacity could bring the transmission price tag up to $2 billion, he said.