SCE, Lotus tapped to develop transmission infrastructure in Southern California – Daily Energy Insider

Published on May 22, 2024 by Dave Kovaleski

Southern California Edison (SCE) and Lotus Infrastructure Partners have been selected by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to develop new transmission infrastructure to deliver energy from renewable sources.

The companies will build a high-voltage transmission line from Serrano Substation in north-central Orange County to a substation in the vicinity of the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) near San Clemente. It will largely be built utilizing existing rights of way for the line. This 30-mile, 500-kilovolt overhead transmission line will transport renewable energy – including utility-scale solar, wind and battery installations — to Southern California.

“New transmission in California needs to be built at up to four times historical rates to meet unprecedented new demand for electricity, driven by growth in EVs, heat pumps, data centers and electrification across the economy,” Steve Powell, president and CEO of SCE, said. “Adding transmission capacity is necessary to ensure the electric system is reliable, resilient and ready to deliver more clean energy when and where it’s needed.”

Lotus will lead the project’s development. Then, upon completion and regulatory approval, SCE will buy the entire project and lease 25 percent of the transmission capability to Lotus.

“Lotus has been developing transmission assets for almost 20 years, including our most recent high-voltage transmission project in the Desert Southwest region, Ten West Link. It is clear that there can be no energy transition without energy transmission,” Himanshu Saxena, chairman and CEO of Lotus, said. “Lotus is proud to partner with the CAISO, SCE and the local communities to move this very important project forward and enable more renewable projects to be built to meet California’s clean energy goals.”

The CAISO conducted a rigorous competitive selection process and selected SCE-Lotus’s proposal from four applications. The CAISO’s comparative analysis included considerations for cost and design, project implementation, operations, and maintenance.

Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer accounts in Central, Coastal and Southern California.