On June 7, 2013, President Obama issued a memorandum titled “Transforming our Nation’s Electric Grid Through Improved Siting, Permitting and Review.” The memo directs the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, and the Interior (collectively the “Secretaries”) to engage in certain actions aimed at establishing energy right-of-way corridors on Federal lands (“energy corridors”) and improved transmission siting, permitting, and review processes. The memo focuses on expanding energy corridors outside those designated by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture in 2009 in 11 contiguous Western States (as defined in section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005). [Read more →]