[Yesterday’s post discussed how FERC failed to implement the siting authority granted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and examined a case study about why it failed. Part II looks at Obama’s “green power” superhighway, the recent work by regional transmission planning organizations to bring renewable energy to market, and the extremely high costs to do so.]
Public policy has long supported the ability to construct new transmission lines that relieve congestion and reduce the cost of energy to consumers. However, it is another question entirely to construct a new “green” coast-to-coast transmission corridor given the mess our transmission system is in today and its prohibitive cost. Critics have complaint that it is throwing good (transmission) money at bad (renewable) generation money.
Slowly, regional system operators are resolving transmission bottlenecks and improving the smooth flow of energy in their service territories.…
[Yesterday’s post discussed how FERC failed to implement the siting authority granted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and examined a case study about why it failed. Part II looks at Obama’s “green power” superhighway, the recent work by regional transmission planning organizations to bring renewable energy to market, and the extremely high costs to do so.]
Public policy has long supported the ability to construct new transmission lines that relieve congestion and reduce the cost of energy to consumers. However, it is another question entirely to construct a new “green” coast-to-coast transmission corridor given the mess our transmission system is in today and its prohibitive cost. Critics have complaint that it is throwing good (transmission) money at bad (renewable) generation money.
Slowly, regional system operators are resolving transmission bottlenecks and improving the smooth flow of energy in their service territories.…
Investment in interstate transmission has not kept pace with the need for more electricity capacity, despite wakeup calls such as the widespread Northeast and Midwest blackout in August 2003. Transmission siting authority has become the mantra for those who claim that the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) syndrome is driving U.S. energy policy. FERC was given the opportunity to flex their national siting authority muscle with passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), but their game plan failed to pass court scrutiny. Today, siting new transmission remains a state’s rights issue as it has always been.
Transmission siting controversies are increasing given the growing number of renewable energy projects that want to interconnect with scarce transmission capacity. Now, another layer of complexity is in play due to the potential of a national renewable portfolio standard that portends hundreds if not thousands of new renewable projects that will all seek priority for grid access.…