VIEW LARGER COVER
Meeting the United States' growing demand for reliable, resilient, and affordable energy will require expanded electric transmission capacity across the nation. As grid planners identify paths to accomplishing this expansion, the co-location of transmission lines along highway and rail rights of way (ROWs) may be one option for siting future transmission infrastructure. While this approach can potentially offer benefits for feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and public acceptance, there are few successful examples of this approach to date and many policy, logistical, design, and construction challenges to consider.
To provide a forum for discussing opportunities for the use of transportation ROWs for electrical transmission, the challenges involved, and potential solutions to overcome barriers, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted the workshop on Reinventing the Right of Way: Policy, Technical, and Economic Implications of Siting Transmission Lines Along Transportation Corridors on April 7-9, 2025. The workshop convened stakeholders in the planning, operations, ownership, use, and regulation of transmission projects and transportation ROWs to establish a shared understanding of the issues and elicit constructive suggestions for action.
Loading stats for Reinventing the Right of Way: Policy, Technical, and Economic Implications of Siting Transmission Lines Along Transportation Corridors: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief...
