For Immediate Release
By: R-CALF USA Communications Director Jaiden Moreland
Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard
Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
BILLINGS, Mont., Aug. 14, 2026 – The U.S. Department of Energy this week announced it will not move forward with designating three proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) selected in December 2024 to advance through the federal review process: the Southwestern Grid Connector Corridor across portions of Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma; the Lake Erie-Canada Corridor across portions of Pennsylvania and Lake Erie; and the Tribal Energy Access Corridor across portions of North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, including five tribal reservations.
The scale of the proposed Southwestern Grid Connector Corridor alone was significant, encompassing nearly 2 million acres of private property in New Mexico and more than 300,000 acres of private land across Baca, Prowers and Kiowa counties in southeastern Colorado, areas that account for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual agricultural sales.
R-CALF USA formally raised concerns about the proposed NIETCs with DOE in June 2024, warning that the corridors crossed regions with concentrated cattle and sheep production and could disrupt independent livestock operations or result in the loss of essential grazing and haying lands. The organization urged DOE to consider alternatives to locating transmission lines in regions vital to U.S. beef and lamb production.
The decision comes after landowners, local governments, R-CALF USA and other stakeholders raised concerns about the proposed corridors and their potential impacts on affected communities, particularly private property rights and the use of eminent domain.
A NIETC designation can create a pathway for transmission developers to obtain federal siting authority through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under certain circumstances. If FERC issues a qualifying permit and a developer cannot acquire the necessary right-of-way through an agreement with a landowner, federal law allows the permit holder to pursue eminent domain to obtain the right-of-way. DOE’s decision not to designate the three proposed corridors closes that federal pathway for projects relying on these NIETC designations.
“We appreciate Secretary Wright and the Department of Energy listening to the concerns of landowners and local communities and choosing not to move forward with these designations,” said R-CALF USA Property Rights Chair Shad Sullivan. “This decision helps protect landowners from future corporate overreach, abuse of eminent domain and unnecessary federal bureaucracy. We can strengthen our energy system without sacrificing the rights of the farmers and ranchers whose land may stand in its path.”
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Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only lobbying and trade association representing U.S. cattle and sheep producers. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. Visit www.r-calfusa.com or call 406-252-2516 for more information.