To Transmission Followers:
With the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - which will incentivize hundreds of gigawatts of new wind, solar and battery storage projects - expanding and upgrading the nation’s transmission grid has become even more important. A new study by Princeton University confirms this finding, noting that the pace of transmission expansion must more than double the rate of expansion over the last decade if the U.S. is to unlock the full emissions reduction potential of the IRA. That rate of expansion is comparable to the long-term average rate of transmission additions from 1978-2020. As I outlined in a recent column in Utility Dive, the findings from this study are consistent with previous studies from Princeton, MIT and the NREL 'Seam' study which all found a need for significant interregional transmission capacity to deliver the lowest-cost clean power.
Recognizing that permitting and paying for interregional lines remains a major hurdle for achieving the potential benefits of the IRA, on Sept. 21, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) released comprehensive permitting reform legislative text for inclusion in the continuing resolution. Following extensive negotiations between Sen. Manchin, Leader Schumer (D-NY), President Biden and Speaker Pelosi (CA-12), the language was removed during CR consideration. The bill would have reformed transmission permitting processes by establishing lead agencies and timelines. The federal government also received authority to direct transmission build-out by designating national interest projects. The bill included other provisions on Clean Water Act certification, completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and clarification of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jurisdiction over hydrogen. The November 8 midterm election outcome will be one of several factors shaping this legislation’s future.
In other congressional news, Rep. Miller-Meeks (IA-2) and Rep. Westerman (AR-4) have introduced the Stay Off My Line Act, which clarifies how transmission projects are classified under NEPA. Rep. Casten’s (IL-6) Reinforcing the Grid Against Extreme Weather Act, which would require FERC to establish minimum transfer capability requirements between transmission planning regions, passed the House as part of the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act.
FERC continues to stay busy, recently announcing a December 5-6 staff-led workshop on interregional transfer capability transmission planning and cost allocation requirements. The purpose of this workshop is to discuss whether and how the Commission could establish a minimum requirement for interregional transfer capability for public utility transmission providers in transmission planning and cost allocation processes. A new study from GE and NRDC demonstrated how additional interregional transmission capacity would provide significant economic and reliability benefits during future extreme weather events. That study built on earlier work that GE had completed on behalf of the Macro Grid Initiative (MGI).
FERC’s own Winter Reliability Assessment demonstrated that the U.S. power system is currently at risk from prolonged cold weather events this upcoming winter. NRDC, an organization supporting the MGI Vision Statement, covered that topic in a recent blog, arguing that grid upgrades are needed.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is also staying busy and has begun work to implement transmission-related programs from the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law in November 2021. DOE solicited comments on their Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program, which will deploy $10.5B over five years through three subprograms. ACORE worked with companies and organizations supporting the MGI Vision Statement, submitting comments that urge the DOE to support applications that requested funding for advanced conductors to maximize the use of existing rights of way, as well as for new interregional lines that are already approved in MISO and SPP but struggling with cost allocation.
MGI continues to hold educational briefings for key congressional offices, meeting with staff in the offices of Reps. Curtis (UT-3), Bice (OK-5), Feenstra (IA-4), and Burgess (TX-26) in the last two months. Berkshire Hathaway Energy joined the meeting with Rep. Curtis, who Chairs the Conservative Climate Caucus. SOO Green Project CEO David Pacyna joined the meeting with Rep. Feenstra to discuss their innovative underground DC transmission line, which begins in the Congressman’s district. We were also joined by Grid United’s General Counsel Kristen Golden during our meeting with Rep. Burgess’ office to discuss their Pecos West project, which will interconnect ERCOT with WECC. NextEra joined the Rep. Bice meeting to discuss their Plains & Eastern line.
Support for more interregional transmission development also continues to build in the private sector, as large companies and utilities continue to sign on to the MGI Vision Statement. Three new organizations - Amazon Web Services, United Power and CTC Global Corporation - have now joined as Vision Statement Supporters, bringing the total to 36 supporting organizations.
The biweekly Macro Grid Working Group Zoom meetings continue to attract top expert speakers focused on the need for, and benefits of, interregional transmission, including:
- Sheila Manz, GE Energy Consulting, on ‘Building the Transmission Necessary to Deliver a Low-Cost and Equitable Clean Energy Economy’ (September 12)
- Dev Millstein, Research Scientist, LBNL, on ‘An Empirical Assessment of Regional and Interregional Transmission Congestion’ (September 26)
- Patrick Brown, co-author of the NREL Study ‘Exploring the Big Challenge Ahead: Insights on the Path to a Net Zero Power Sector by 2035’ (October 17)
- Bob Schulte, Schulte Associates LLC, Power from the Prairie Concept Design Study (October 31)
- Arash Ghodsian, Vice President, Transmission and Policy, Invenergy, joined by CAISO Director for Infrastructure and Management Deb LeVine (upcoming, November 21).
If you would like to be added to the distribution list for these calls, please email
tyran@acore.org.
The
ACORE Grid Forum returned in person to Washington D.C. on October 13 and featured a panel entitled ‘Building the Transmission Necessary to Deliver a Low-Cost and Equitable Clean Energy Economy.’ The panel discussed transmission progress in specific regions and featured experts from SPP, MISO, offshore transmission, as well as a consultant who facilitates specific lines through the permitting process. The Grid Forum was sold out, with attendees from renewable, storage, and transmission companies, regulators, and other leading grid representatives. You can read a blog recap
here.
Lastly, MGI and MGI-produced work product also continue to receive mentions in leading news publications, including:
Thank you all for your continuing interest in the Macro Grid Initiative.
Best regards,
Barbara Tyran
Director of Macro Grid Initiative
American Council on Renewable Energy
1150 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 401 | Washington, D.C. 20036
E: tyran@acore.org | P: 202-777-7590
