Government reviewing Google-backed power line

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday said it hopes to make a decision on the location of a Google-backed offshore transmission line in the next few months, pledging that the project would not face the bureaucratic delays that plagued previous offshore renewable energy projects.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said companies backing offshore projects in the past often never knew whether they would receive the right to develop their proposal.

"Because of the reforms that we've implemented ... that won't happen again," Salazar told reporters at a press conference. "We will know in the next several months whether or not this applicant is going to receive the real estate to develop this transmission."

The department has worked to streamline regulatory oversight for offshore renewable power, as part of the Obama administration's efforts to promote development of cleaner sources of energy.

Google and its partners plan to construct a transmission system that could transport up to 7,000 megawatts of electricity from wind farms off the Atlantic coast.

The project, which consists of two parallel transmission lines stretching from the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area to southern Virginia, is also backed by Good Energies, a private firm, and Japan's Marubeni Corp.

The department said it plans to open a 60-day public comment period to gauge whether any other developers are interested in the area proposed for the transmission line.

If there is no significant competition for the area, then the department plans to quickly make a decision on whether to grant a right-of-way for the transmission project .

The project would still have to undergo environmental review, which can take 18 to 24 months, once it received the right-of-way for its proposed route.

(Reporting By Ayesha Rascoe; editing by Jim Marshall)

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