Southern California Edison (SCE) and Lotus Infrastructure Partners have been selected by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to develop a new transmission project.
The two companies will develop, permit, own, operate and maintain a high-voltage transmission line aimed at transporting renewable energy across Southern California.
The collaboration between SCE and Lotus is set to enhance the region’s energy reliability and contribute to California’s climate objectives.
The project, named North of SONGS to Serrano, is a 30-mile (48km), 500kV overhead transmission line that will connect the Serrano Substation in north-central Orange County to a substation near the decommissioned San Onofre nuclear generating station (SONGS).
The line will primarily follow existing rights of way and deliver energy from renewable sources, such as solar, wind and battery installations, to Southern California’s grid.
Lotus Infrastructure Partners will lead the development of the project, while SCE will take ownership upon completion and regulatory approval.
SCE will lease 25% of the transmission capability back to Lotus.
The partnership will leverage SCE’s track record in delivering clean energy and Lotus’s expertise in transmission ownership and development.
SCE president and CEO Steve Powell stated: “New transmission in California needs to be built at up to four times historical rates to meet the unprecedented new demand for electricity, driven by growth in EVs (electric vehicles), heat pumps, data centres and electrification across the economy.
“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 chairman and CEO Himanshu Saxena stated: “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.
“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.”
SCE-Lotus’s proposal was chosen from four applications after a comparative analysis that evaluated cost, design, project implementation, and operations and maintenance.
In 2024 Lotus completed the sale of its 50% stake in the Compass Portfolio to the Thailand-based Electricity Generating Public Company Limited.
The Compass Portfolio comprises Marcus Hook Energy, a 912MW natural gas-fired combined cycle facility in Pennsylvania, and Milford Power and Dighton Power, two combined cycle gas turbine facilities with capacities of 205MW and 187MW, respectively, located in Massachusetts.
