FERC’s Role in Enabling Transmission to Help Decarbonize the US Power Grid

A Biden administration could seek bipartisan support for transmission policy reform, but major challenges remain when it comes to integrating clean energy into the grid.

by Jeff St. John

December 01, 2020

Cost-effectively decarbonizing the U.S. electric grid means building a lot more transmission capacity, from interregional high-voltage corridors to carry far-off wind and solar resources to population centers, to transmission networks to enable the country’s massive offshore wind power potential.

But U.S. transmission build-out has lagged behind this need, energy experts agree. High-profile independent transmission developments have faltered under the complexities of building massive capital projects across multiple jurisdictions, each capable of halting decade-long development processes through legal or regulatory challenges.

Similar divisions have bogged down the vast majority of new transmission development that relies on regulations to enlist multiple utilities and states in agreeing to share the costs and benefits of shared projects. The few exceptions to this rule, such as the transmission build-out enabled by Texas grid operator ERCOT’s CREZ policy and Midwest grid operator MISO’s MVP policy effort, underscore how much time and effort are required to align transmission build-outs within the footprint of a single independent system operator or regional transmission organization, let alone projects that cross these regional boundaries.

As the federal agency responsible for interstate transmission policy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could play a vital role in unblocking these bottlenecks, according to former FERC commissioners and energy stakeholders. And unlike many key clean energy policies, these transmission policy efforts could cross partisan boundaries by driving economic development for wind and solar-rich states under Republican control as well as for clean energy interests supported by Democrats.

This offers the incoming Biden administration a valuable opportunity to direct FERC’s transmission policy developments in ways that can support its clean energy and decarbonization ambitions. Here’s an overview of what’s on the table.

GETTING APPROVAL TO BUILD TRANSMISSION LINES IS HARD OFTEN BECAUSE PROPERTY OWNERS DO NOT LIKE TO SEE THESE LINES.

The Landscape Has Shifted’: Neil Chatterjee on FERC’s Role in the Energy Transition

On this week’s Political Climate, we speak to FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee about the agency’s recent rulemakings and past controversies, and his outlook on the future of U.S. energy policy.

When Neil Chatterjee was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by President Trump in 2017, stakeholders in the climate and clean energy space were concerned about what his agenda would be. Headlines dubbed him “McConnell’s coal guy” and “fossil-fuel champion Chatterjee,” referring to his role as a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).

But Chatterjee has proven to be much more than a “coal guy,” despite his sympathies for struggling Kentucky coal communities. The Republican leader recently voted in favor of rules supporting distributed energy resources and carbon pricing, and views these decisions as powerful steps in advancing the energy transition.

His openness to supporting policies that benefit clean energy may have cost him his leadership position at FERC. President Trump demoted Chatterjee from the chairman role last month, although he remains on the commission and will serve alongside two new appointees confirmed by the Senate this week.

In this episode of Political Climate, we speak to FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee about several of the agency’s recent rulemakings, past controversies and his outlook for the future of U.S. energy policy in today’s shifting political landscape.

What Can Energy Storage Get From President Biden?

Can the federal government become the industry’s new biggest customer?

by Julian Spector
November 30, 2020

The Biden administration is coming. President-elect Joe Biden is picking his team and getting ready to hit the ground running whenever the current president allows for the peaceful transition of power.

But Georgia's two Democratic senate candidates will need to win their runoff elections in January to give their party 50 seats in the U.S. Senate, which would then allow Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to break tie votes on key legislative efforts. Even if this split Senate is achieved, such a thin margin for passing votes means that bold action on climate change would require ironclad party discipline.

Given those realities, energy storage industry advocates are looking at ways to embed friendly policies in must-pass legislation, such as bills to boost economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic or build up the country's infrastructure. They're seeking relief from tariffs that have made battery projects more expensive, and procurement guidelines to boost storage deployments in federal buildings and projects. And they're promoting the role of storage as a critical step in increasing the country's share of renewable energy.

Grid Edge Innovation Summit 2020: IBM’s Brad Gammons on Utility Digitalization in the Age of Decarbonization

IBM’s Energy, Environment & Utility industry lead explains how IT will enable the clean energy evolution.

IBM has spent the past decade advancing smart meter and digital grid technologies around the world, including playing a key role in designing the "Smart Grid Maturity Model" that helped guide investment strategies for hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. federal energy infrastructure and modernization recovery funds in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Brad Gammons, global managing director for IBM’s Energy, Environment & Utility Industry practice, believes the technology giant will have an even greater impact in how electric utilities respond to mounting operational and reliability challenges emerging from climate change impacts and mitigation strategies in the decades to come.

This will include solutions to manage and orchestrate the rising share of intermittent renewable energy powering the grid, as well as distributed energy resources and the substantial growth in electricity demand to come from the electrification of transportation and low-temperature heating.

The number of smart meters deployed by utilities in the United States reached about 98 million at the end of 2019, and according to the Edison Foundation Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI) will reach 107 million by the end of this year.

A smart meter is an electronic device that records information such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor. Smart meters communicate the information to the consumer for greater clarity of consumption behavior, and electricity suppliers for system monitoring and customer billing.

All suppliers are required to have offered their customers a smart meter for gas and electric by June 2025. When you'll get your meter depends on your supplier's current progress and ability to install meters in homes like yours.

The New Mexico Senate is considering establishing a grant program funded through the state treasurer's office to modernize the electric distribution grid with cybersecurity programs, advanced metering and associated software systems to enhance demand response, energy storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
House Bill 233, the Energy Grid Modernization Roadmap, passed the lower chamber on a vote of 61-1 and now awaits a vote by the full Senate. If signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the program could go live this summer according to PNM Resources, a subsidiary of the Public Service Company of New Mexico.
PNM officials say the utility supports the bill and did provide input on its language, but a range of entities could benefit. Grants would be available on a competitive basis to municipalities and county governments, state agencies, state universities, public schools, post-secondary educational institutions, tribes and pueblos.
MORE TO THE POINT, THE COSTS OF SMART METERS FOR CONSUMERS IS STILL NOT CLEAR AS TO HOW/WHEN PAID.

HAVE A GREAT AND SAFE WEEKEND,

George Richmond

-- George M. Richmond 152 Juniper Hill Road, NE Albuquerque, NM 87122-1913 C: 505-280-2105 E: geomrich1@comcast.net