Federal decision expected on SunZia transmission line

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Federal officials are greenlighting a proposed $2 billion transmission line between Arizona and New Mexico that has become a priority for the Obama administration.

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced the project's approval ahead of a Saturday news conference alongside members of New Mexico's congressional delegation in Albuquerque.

In November, the Bureau of Land Management released its review of a compromise reached with the U.S. Defense Department over the location of a section of the 515-mile-long transmission line.

Disagreement over the route landed the project in limbo in 2013.

SunZia is one of seven pilot projects the Obama administration has put on a fast track in hopes of boosting renewable energy development mainly across the West. The projects cover a dozen states and span thousands of miles.