This report provides a summary of recent high-voltage transmission project trends and cost estimates for transmission and switchyard systems to connect power generation facilities to transmission systems. The report begins with an overview of completed and under construction high-voltage transmission projects between 2012 through 2031 and a view at the potential, planned project pipeline as reported by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Electricity Supply & Demand (ES&D) December 2021 dataset. The report provides insights on primary challenges leading to project cancellations, new project drivers, and regional trends.
The second portion of this report presents cost adders for resource planning to account for switchyard requirements and transmission lateral construction costs for new generation plants. Baseline cost adders are presented for the different technologies. The report also covers potential cost influencing factors such as soil type, geographical characteristics, regional wages, and labor posture. There is high uncertainty in estimating near-term project costs due to input material price inflation and supply chain challenges, as well as uncertainty in how these factors may change over time.