(Reuters) - A planned $5 billion transmission line to send power from wind farms off the East Coast cleared a hurdle, allowing the Google Inc-backed project to move to the next step in the approval process, officials said.
The Department of the Interior declared on Monday there was "no overlapping competitive interest" in proposed areas for building the line off the mid-Altantic coast. The statement cleared the way for an environmental review of the Atlantic Wind Connection line. Uncertainty about offshore interests have led to delays in other wind projects.
The project faces regional and federal regulatory hurdles which backers hope to clear within two years so it can nail down financial agreements and start transmitting power by the end of 2017. The AWC, which would transport up to 7,000 megawatts of power, is also backed by a private company called Good Energies, and Japan's Marubeni Corp.
