An Update on the Macro Grid Initiative

Macro Grid in the Congressional Limelight - Beth Soholt, Executive Director of the Clean Grid Alliance, had a clear message for Members of Congress when she testified before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis: “The pursuit and achievement of a Macro Grid – an interregionally connected backbone for the nation’s transmission grid – is essential for the United States to achieve its climate goals and ‘charge up’ the economy.”

In response to Members' questions about the obstacles to modernizing the grid, Soholt was direct: “We need to do a couple of things. We need some additional good direction from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on transmission planning across the seams. We have a big challenge right now with connecting the various power pools together to be able to plan and permit and build transmission across those seams, and the real benefit of doing that is we’re going to be able to deliver savings and cost-effective clean energy for customers. It’s all about the customer savings, as well as the environment.”

Soholt also recommended that Congress help by working with the states to better understand how we can tackle some of the routing issues and cost allocation policies. “It’s a challenging dilemma to solve, but the benefits are so great.” Watch Beth Soholt’s testimony in support of the Macro Grid Initiative (MGI) here.

A Bipartisan Pair of FERC Nominations - President Trump nominated Allison Clements and Mark C. Christie to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Clements, the Democratic pick, spent ten years at the Natural Resources Defense Council as corporate counsel before becoming Director of the Sustainable FERC Project. Clements most recently served as the Director of the Energy Markets Program at the Energy Foundation before returning to her consulting practice earlier this year. Clements has long advocated for grid modernization and regulatory changes that would support the clean energy transition. Christie, the Republicans’ choice, served on the Virginia State Corporation Commission for 16 years and as President of both the Organization of PJM States and the Mid-Atlantic Conference of State Utility Regulators. Both Clements and Christie would bring a wealth of experience and knowledge of electricity markets to the Commission.

FERC Releases Report on Barriers and Opportunities for High-Voltage Transmission - Responding to a request from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, FERC has released a report on the benefits of expanding and upgrading high-voltage transmission, and the barriers standing in the way.

At a time when rapid changes in the energy landscape and evolving policy priorities are bringing the needs of the electric grid into sharper focus, FERC has now weighed in with a report clearly stating the benefits of high-voltage transmission.

According to the report, investments, particularly in interregional transmission, will benefit consumers, the grid and the environment. High-voltage transmission will enable the electric sector to optimize the current system and ensure that transmission built now will support future needs.

Topping the list of benefits are reliability and resilience. Access to power outside regions provided by high-voltage transmission can allow the grid to maintain power during catastrophic events such as the polar vortex. Similarly, the grid can recover more quickly from events like Superstorm Sandy if power generated in areas unaffected by the event can be transported to where that power is needed.

For the states with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets, “new high-voltage transmission lines can increase the availability of carbon-free energy and facilitate the replacement of energy generated by fossil fuels, thereby helping states meet their targets.” In addition to transporting power from carbon-free wind and solar facilities, high-voltage transmission can help accommodate the loss of dispatchable generation from fossil fuel plants.

The report makes clear that the development of transmission needed to unlock these benefits is hindered by a labyrinth of planning, permitting and cost allocation processes. Notwithstanding these challenges, the report offers reasons for hope, pointing to instances of where “states and regions have been working together to identify potential improvements to their respective interregional transmission coordination processes with the goal of furthering interregional transmission development.”

The Macro Grid Initiative Welcomes New Supporters - The American Wind Energy Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association have all signed on to support the Macro Grid vision statement: Expanding and upgrading the nation’s transmission network will deliver jobs and economic development, a cleaner environment, and lower costs for consumers.

As the Macro Grid Initiative (MGI) begins planning a series of public conversations on the role of expanded and updated transmission in the ongoing energy transition, we invite organizations to join us. To learn how to become a supporter of the MGI, email macrogrid@acore.org.