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Obstacles and Opportunities for Renewable Energy Transmission

Obstacles and Opportunities for Renewable Energy Transmission. Carl Zichella, Sierra Club Southwest Renewable Energy Transmission Conference, Phoenix, AZ May 21. 2010. Objectives. Reduce GhG emissions.

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Obstacles and Opportunities for Renewable Energy Transmission

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  1. Obstacles and Opportunities for Renewable Energy Transmission Carl Zichella, Sierra Club Southwest Renewable Energy Transmission Conference, Phoenix, AZ May 21. 2010

  2. Objectives • Reduce GhG emissions. • Preserve ability for wildlife and plant species and habitats to adapt and maintain genetic diversity. • Maintain and increase collaboration, cooperation and communication between conservation community, regulators and renewable energy advocates and industry. • Reduce conflicts over, and costs of, renewable energy and GTx development.

  3. Premises for Collaborative Transmission Siting – A Regional Approach • Focus on transmission improvements for renewables • Involve stakeholders up front • Maximize Grid Utilization • Identify and seek solutions for problems • Use interconnection planning to identify needed projects • Based on IRPs • Allow for broad cost recovery to help finance them • Siting and Transmission considered together

  4. Grid Utilization • Avoids siting problems now and in future • Right size lines • Reduces costs • Preserves climate adaptation opportunities • Integrates new technologies (monitoring, shaping and firming) • Protects cultural resources • Speeds up grid integration of Renewable Energy

  5. Broad Cost Allocation • Allows for innovation • Allows for creative routing • Connects with national and regional goals • Allows for “Right Sizing” of Lines • Reduces costs for consumers

  6. RPS: the right long term goal? • Floor, not ceiling • De-carbonizing the economy the real goal • GhG reductions have real but difficult to quantify financial benefits • Financial benefits to avoiding controversy • Time value • Avoided impacts, accelerated revenues

  7. Some factors missed by narrow economic view • Disturbed lands not always best resource but have substantial important benefits • But can be built faster with less controversy • Avoid litigation • Often closer to load • Often closer to existing infrastructure • Preserve adaptation opportunities

  8. Needs/Opportunities • Broader coordinated planning needed • Procurement, balancing areas and cost allocation • Remove obstacles to innovation (cost allocation, etc.) • Need new tools to represent environmental values, benefits and costs • Need more consistent data for regional analyses • Wildlife data differs between and among states • Need to address NERC reliability standards

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