GIS Applications for Coordinating Transmission Siting in Highway Rights-of-Way
Executive Director Allie Kelly recently joined leaders from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to demonstrate how The Ray’s data-driven approach is helping states turn "idle land" into a powerful tool for clean energy.
Key Takeaways
GIS Suitability Mapping: The Ray uses Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to analyze thousands of miles of roadside. This allows them to identify the perfect "optimal path" for buried and overhead power lines without the traditional hurdles of land acquisition.
National Scale: Under Kelly’s leadership, The Ray has expanded its reach from a single 18-mile stretch in Georgia to formal partnerships with state DOTs, as well as turnpikes and railroads across the country.
Accelerated Permitting: By utilizing transportation rights-of-way (ROW), The Ray helps agencies and utilities bypass complex private land disputes, dramatically speeding up the timeline for local and interregional energy projects.
The Energy-Transportation Nexus: The strategy focuses on "circularity," turning existing highway infrastructure into a multi-use asset that supports both mobility and the national power grid.
“We are moving past the ‘if’ and ‘why’ and getting straight to the ‘how.’ By using GIS to model these optimal paths, we are giving State DOTs the precision they need to open up their land for the next generation of energy infrastructure.”
