H.R. 7405 — Rail and Highway Transmission Planning Act

This section expresses the sense of Congress that transportation rights-of-way, including highway and rail rights-of-way, should accommodate new electric transmission infrastructure to serve the public interest and states the purpose of the Act to accelerate high-voltage transmission development by co-locating projects in such rights-of-way to alleviate energy capacity constraints and deliver affordable, reliable electricity.

This section directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and relevant national laboratories, to conduct a study evaluating the potential benefits and challenges of constructing high-voltage transmission infrastructure on covered rights-of-way (i.e., highway rights-of-way, including those of state highways and the National Highway System, or rail rights-of-way, including abandoned railroads). In the study, the Secretary shall (1) review completed or ongoing U.S. projects on such rights-of-way, assessing challenges and solutions; (2) determine best practices for planning, permitting, financing, and development; (3) generate or consolidate data on covered rights-of-way to evaluate technical feasibility; (4) identify suitable rights-of-way based on regional transmission needs, feasibility, and other factors; (5) for each identified right-of-way, evaluate transmission configurations (e.g., high-voltage AC/DC, overhead/underground), challenges, costs/benefits compared to non-right-of-way construction, funding mechanisms, and grid/consumer/transportation benefits; (6) assess environmental, railroad operations, and community effects (e.g., electromagnetic interference); (7) develop an interagency action plan and resources for federal/state/local agencies, utilities, and railroads; and (8) consult relevant stakeholders. The Secretary shall publish study elements on a rolling basis as completed; submit a full report with machine-readable data to Congress, and publish it on the Department of Energy website, not later than 3 years after enactment (with possible redactions for national security).