The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has announced start of operations at the Ten West Link project, which is reported as transmitting 3.2 GW of renewables, but with 7 GW of renewable power projects applying for grid connection. The project runs for 125 miles at 500 kV, with an estimated $400 million investment, and took 18 months to build. For context, the whole US needs 75,000 new miles of transmission to reach a zero-carbon grid by 2035. The Ten West Link connects the Arizona Public Service Company (APS) Delaney substation to Blythe, in California. A huge part of California’s electricity mix is ‘imports’ – for now, still a largely coal- and gas-based category – and Arizona’s grid targets are much…