Louisiana Lawmakers Move to Block Southern Spirit Transmission Line Amid Eminent Domain Controversy and Landowner Opposition.

The long-planned Southern Spirit transmission line, which would connect Texas’ wind-heavy grid to Mississippi, is facing new obstacles as Louisiana lawmakers move to tighten the state’s eminent domain laws. The line, planned for 320 miles, would cross northern Louisiana without distributing power directly to the state, but developer Pattern Energy argues that it would benefit Louisiana as it shares a grid with Mississippi. Some landowners argue that the project will not serve the state and should not be subject to expropriation, resulting in a court process of seizing land for publicly important projects. Now, lawmakers are considering legislation that would block expropriations for the project, allowing developers to use expropriate only if most of the power’s end-users are in Louisiana.