The transmission grid in the United States needs to be built up “to be more regional like an interstate highway system versus a local state highway system,” to meet growing energy demands most effectively, said Welch.

He likened our current transmission grid to the pre- interstate highway system, saying, “There weren’t many highways that went from state to state on a contiguous basis that could travel freely. We need the same thing in the high voltage electric business.”

“The high voltage transmission grid in the United States is fragmented. It’s not complete. It doesn’t serve all customers on an equal basis, and as a result of that, our country is suffering from a lack of liquidity in the electric energy business such that not everybody has access to equal amounts of power at the same price,” said Welch.

Watch the full interview on the Platts Energy Week website.

All six states in the New England region have some sort of renewable energy portfolio standard. However, to help meet these standards, up to date transmission lines are needed to connect the region to its own remote sources of renewable power, like Northern Maine, as well as abundant, renewable sources from across the country. Modernizing a region’s transmission infrastructure can be a delicate process due to cost allocation and siting issues.

In his interview with the Associated Press, Bill White explained:

“While transmission costs are initially high, the infrastructure lasts decades, brings down costs, and is a good investment it in the long run. He said transmission costs average just 10 percent or less of the total on utility bills nationwide — electricity generation costs makes up the bulk of the bill.

New collaborative planning processes also mandated under the federal order will allow people to help determine which lines are needed, where they’re needed, and how they help states reach their own goals for things such as more renewable energy, White said. He thinks once that’s understood, the projects will find strong support.”

While more renewable power generation could do more than satisfy state mandates, it also has potential to decrease New England’s electricity prices, which are high because of the region’s dependency on fossil fuels.

To read the Associated Press story, click here.

The New England Clean Energy Transmission Summit was a great success.  More than 200 participants, both in-person and online, joined our expert panelists and featured guests, Congressman Ed Markey and FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur for a robust discussion on the future of New England’s clean energy system.

If you missed one of the panels, check out Summit videos and presentations here.

Americans for a Clean Energy Grid is already planning for other great events across the U.S. in the coming months, so be sure to check back for additional information or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Keynote speeches by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur and environmental organizer Bill McKibben set the tone for the day, while other speakers will add to the discussion of key issues from recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rulings to economic development and clean energy solutions that can create new jobs in New England and bring down high electricity costs.

The event is webcast at: http://cleanenergytransmission.org/netswebcast and participants can follow the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #NESummit.

The event is being hosted by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), and the New England Clean Energy Council.

Next week I’ll be participating in a clean energy summit in Boston that will feature Congressman Ed Markey and FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur. Attendance at this event is free. Please RSVP today.

This event brings together key Federal officials from the Administration and Congress, their state counterparts, clean energy industry leaders and the environmental community and energy consumers to forge clean energy solutions that benefit our economy and our environment drawing on the full range of options from renewable energy to transmission infrastructure to demand side solutions like energy efficiency.

Please join me and others for this engaging, important conversation.

The event will feature Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA), FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur and environmental organizer Bill McKibben.

Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, in cooperation with the Conservation Law Foundation and the New England Clean Energy Council, will convene an event in Boston with electricity and energy experts to discuss why New England will benefit from developing transmission for renewable energy. The New England Clean Energy Transmission Summit will be held on January 23rd at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

An event agenda can be found here. Event panels discussions and keynote addresses will also be webcast. More details to come.

The event is free of charge, but space is limited and so early RSVP is recommended.

The day-long forum will consist of panel discussions and keynote speeches that feature national and regional experts on renewable energy and electricity transmission who will address key issues including:

• How transmission is a key enabler to clean energy economic development and achieving other environmental goals; 
• How recent FERC actions affect New England grid modernization;
• How different parts of the U.S. are modernizing their regional electric grids;
• How changes in transmission planning are needed to deliver cheaper, cleaner electricity to businesses and consumers. 

Speakers Include:

• Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA)
• FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur
• Environmental organizer Bill McKibben
• Representatives from New England-based companies, electric utilities, and environmental groups

Event Details

Date: January 23, 2012

Time: 9:00AM – 4:30PM

Location: The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Connolly Center, Fourth Floor, Boston, Massachusetts

Thank you to our sponsors:

Buffet’s power company, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, recently announced that it will acquire a 49% stake in a 290MW Arizona solar project, part of the company’s move to “aggressively pursue” expansion in the renewable energy sector.

Word of the NRG project followed an announcement a few weeks ago that MidAmerican plans to buy a huge, 550 MW solar PV plant planned for California – the Topaz project.

Greg Abel, chairman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company had this to say:

“As energy needs continue to increase, the Topaz project will allow MidAmerican to produce renewable energy for thousands of Californians. This project also demonstrates that solar energy is a commercially viable technology without the support of governmental loan guarantees and reflects the type of solar and other renewable generation that MidAmerican will continue to seek to add to its unregulated portfolio.”

Solar is indeed commercially viable. And we need the transmission grid that is designed to support it. There is vast solar potential, from California to New Jersey, Wisconsin to Hawaii, and in many states in between. To unlock that potential and support projects like the Topaz solar plant, we have to connect them to consumers.

Read more about how transmission helps grow domestic clean energy supplies.

The rules affecting these power plants were exempted from Clean Air Act rules enacted more than 40 years ago because policy makers expected them to shut down in the near future. Now ancient, many of these plants are still spewing pollution with devastating health and environmental impacts. Public health experts say that closing these plants will prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks every year.

Obviously this is a major victory for public health and the environment, but it is also a quantum leap in the evolution of our electric grid. These antiquated power plants didn’t just influence the types of power we use, they actually dictated the way the current grid was built. In almost every case, these plants were built by traditional monopoly utilities that decided which plants to build and where to build them, and simply built whatever transmission was needed to connect them to the grid and deliver their power to customers. All of these costs were then passed on to ratepayers.

Shuttering these plants decades after ratepayers have fully paid for them is a big deal for their owners, who reap fat profits from keeping them online. Their alarmist claims about the risks of shutting them down, though not surprising, are baseless. Numerous studies have shown the EPA rules pose no threat to grid reliability or adequate power supplies. In fact, the rules accelerate the historic transformation of our electricity supply that is already under way. Retiring old coal plants paves the way for developing cleaner, cheaper domestic resources that can meet growing electric demand. Renewable electricity, our nation’s richest energy resource, can meet that demand if we build a grid that can tap into it.

The main obstacle to developing our virtually unlimited renewable energy resources is building the transmission to deliver them from the remote places where they are most cost-effective and abundant – the Great Plains, Southwest, and offshore – to population centers where they are needed. A close second last year to natural gas among new generation sources, renewable power is competitively priced, fast to build, and has a proven record of reliability. The EPA rules make the case for building transmission for renewable energy more compelling than ever. The rules should also allay concerns that new transmission lines would unintentionally give new life to old and dirty power plants because it ensures most of them will cease to exist.

The EPA’s announcement comes close on the heels of another landmark policy for our electricity system: FERC Order 1000. Issued in July, this rule gives grid planners new tools for working across arbitrary regional barriers that for decades have prevented interstate transmission lines that could get remote renewables to market from getting built. Order 1000 also requires planners to consider public policies, such as renewable energy standards and environmental regulations, when deciding what to build and where.

Taken together, these rules give regional planners the tools and information to work together and identify the best strategic investments to modernize our grid. A stronger, smarter and more efficient electric system that promotes competition is what we need to reduce rates, improve reliability, and develop the clean, domestic resources that can fuel our nation for the next 30 years and beyond.

FERC’s decision, detailed here by the New York Times’ Matt Wald was in response to BPA’s actions last June when a wealth of wind and hydropower from a record snowmelt caused a surge of power on the grid. Instead of selling the cheap, excess power to neighboring utilities, BPA effectively “shut off” the region’s wind power.

The move denied utilities the renewable energy which they had contracted to purchase in order to comply with state renewable portfolio standards. It also cost wind farm owners millions and created an atmosphere of uncertainty about the ability of wind power generators to sell to customers in the future. Not only is that fundamentally unfair, many believed, without FERC’s order, investment in new wind power facilities in the region would come to a standstill.

More importantly, the Bonneville practices caused the displacement of almost 100,000 megawatt hours of inexpensive wind energy from May through July 2011 – enough power to supply 10,000 households for a year. If sold into the wholesale market, that power could have helped drive down costs for all consumers.

While some may see the BPA issue as unique to a region that is blessed with a wealth of renewable energy, its importance was not lost on lawmakers representing the other side of the country who saw its implications for competitive energy markets.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee and long-time advocate for open and competitive electrical transmission policies, weighed in on the decision, saying:

“I encourage Bonneville and the Department of Energy to work closely with each other and with wind developers and other parties to develop mutually-agreeable policies that ensure open access to transmission and create a positive environment for clean energy investment.”

Rep. Markey also sent a letter to the Department of Energy (DOE) encouraging the agency to address future barriers to integrating renewable energy into the grid. Read Markey’s statement here.

The $6.5 billion investment in new transmission is needed to maintain system reliability, improve market efficiency, and allow for the integration of reliable, new generation sources. The project list includes 16 multi-value projects (MVPs) – lines that provide a range of regional benefits and are paid for through broad cost allocation.

In total, the portfolio will deliver more than double the return on investment for the region. For retail customers, analysts estimate that an $11 per year investment will yield $23 in savings on a typical electricity bill.

Other benefits of MISO’s transmission plan include:

• The creation of up to 39,800 construction and 74,000 total annual jobs from the portfolio of multi-value projects.
• The creation of $15.5 billion to $49.2 billion in net-present-value economic benefits over a 20- to 40-year time frame, according to MISO.
• The generation of up to $49.2 billion in benefits from the use of lower-cost generation and reductions in energy wasted through transmission losses.