Xcel Energy announced this week it is seeking Texas approval for $65 million in power grid upgrades in the Texas Panhandle.
Lamb and Bailey counties are located southwest of Amarillo. Xcel Energy said the improvements are meant to relieve overloaded lines and make way for future economic expansion in the region.
One of the new expansions is a $250 million dollar dairy in Littlefield. The Continental Dairy Facilities and Select Milk Producers project began in 2016 and should be completed later this year.
The company filed the upgrade plan with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. It is hoping to win approval of nearly 50 miles of new transmission line near Muleshoe, expansion of a substation in Lamb County and expansion of a pump station.
The request comes on the heels of approval by Texas for the additional of 12,300 megawatts of wind energy in West Texas. Xcel is planning a 478-megawatt Hale Wind Project plus a Sagamore Wind Project near Portales, New Mexico.