In the last two weeks there have been a flurry of news items relevant to Fix the Grid, including two local news articles about the FERC Winter Reliability conference in Portland. A “deep dive” into workarounds happening given the severe problem of interconnection delays caught our eye. And much more.
Two articles in the local press reported on the FERC Winter Reliability Conference held in Portland on 6/20/2023. 6/23. Shared by Lilly Worthley and Tracy V. Posted here by K. Wittenburg. The WBUR report is reasonably comprehensive and mentions Fix-the-Grid. The Commonwealth report somewhat overstates the view that ISO-NE is no longer concerned in the short run about realiability after the EPRI report. It seemed to us that ISO-NE leadership is in favor of keeping open the Mystic LNG terminal despite the EPRI study.
Grassroots buy-in will be vital to transmission buildout, say clean energy experts 6/22/23 Utility Dive Brief by Diana DiGangi. The recent debt ceiling agreement obligated NERC (see item below) to spend 18 months studying interregional transmission capacity needs. But given the recent Columbia study on local permitting resistance, many feel a better approach is for states to persuade local jurisdictions of the economic and climate change benefits of transmission build-out as a more timely solution.
Presentation | December 2022 Winter Storm Elliott Inquiry into Bulk-Power System Operations: FERC, NERC and Regional Entity Joint Team Status Update 6/15/23 Headline by FERC staff,
largely a “we told you so” reminder of 2011, 2014, and 2021 recommendations on power plant and gas system cold weather preparedness and freeze protection measures and better ISO-NE weather and load forecasting. NERC, North American Electric Reliability Corporation is the non-profit organization responsible for continent wide electric reliability, and the regional entity under it which serves ISO-NE is NPCC, Northeast Power Coordinating Council.
Four non-transmission solutions for clean energy with new power lines in the permitting ‘Valley of Death’ 6/21/23 Utility Dive Deep Dive by Herman Trabish describes in great depth four ways to temporarily sidestep transmission inadequacy as a cause of interconnection delays:
- Storage-as-transmission a.k.a. SATA – locate the storage near the grid congestion
- Grid-enhancing technologies – deploy sensors and logic to optimize use of the existing grid
- Economic overbuilding – Grant interconnection to distributed resources located closer to existing transmission lines and loads
- Engage customers – Pay customers with DERs (distributed energy resources) the real market value of energy supplied to the grid from their batteries and energy saved by demand response.
As an example of SATA, National Grid’s $50 million, 8-hour, 48-MWh battery deferred an estimated $250 million transmission line for Nantucket Island.
Northeastern states seek DOE support for transmission collaborative across three regions 6/20/23 Utility Dive article by Ethan Howland reports on a letter to DOE from eight states’ energy administrators requesting that DOE form a Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission and suggesting that ISO-NE, NYISO, and PJM “could be invited to participate as additional technical support”. The states acknowledge the existing Interregional Planning Stakeholder Advisory Committee, which is a Restricted Access Committee and currently shows no events on its calendar.
Is It Time for Big-Business to Sit Down & Shut Up? By Thom Hartmann 6/20/23. “Or, as was common in the 19th century, should they be dissolved by the state and have their assets sold to other corporations that will behave in a way that is not toxic to democracy or the community?” This expansive history of why corporations are NOT people starts with mention of Maine’s Our Power’s referendum calling for state buyout of the assets of (Canadian-owned) Versant and Central Maine Power (Spanish-owned) to combine them into a “nonprofit utility that will be owned by and operated for the benefit of the state of Maine and its citizens” and describes the challenges to such progressive ideas right up to Harlan Crow.
Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States: May 2023 Edition May 2023 Edition Sabin Center (Columbia) for Climate Change Law study by Hilary Aidun, et al. about local opposition to renewable energy projects. It’s a state-by-state cataloging. Only three states were found not to have local opposition cases. A takeaway is that FTG outreach might also need to advocate for support for renewables at the local level.
Why the U.S. Electric Grid Isn’t Ready for the Energy Transition 6/12/23 New York Times article by Nadja Popovich and Brad Plumer, references the history of the US grid’s structure, barriers to interconnecting renewables, and pending and potential solutions. For extensive details, see the post immediately above re: Sabin Center study.
FERC’s backstop siting authority: Why considering emissions, EJ will get transmission built 6/8/23 Utility Dive Opinion by Matt Lifson. “Commissioner James Danly argues that his colleagues are trying to enact an ‘environmental justice wish list’ and ‘standardless environmental tests well beyond our statutory authority.’” The Chamber of Commerce and some House committees concur. However, the Supreme Court has instructed that the Federal Power Act’s “public interest” clause, to content and meaning, must include the subsidiary purposes of considering environmental questions.
Virtual power plant grid participation can grow with new business models, market rules: Guidehouse 6/7/23 Utility Dive post by Robert Walton. “The aggregations of distributed energy resources could reduce 2030 peak demand in the U.S. by 60 GW, according to research from RMI… [Guidehouse] recommends providers streamline their offerings for end consumers, while system operators and regulators develop market frameworks to encourage the resources.”
Offshore wind news and policy: Tracking the latest U.S. developments 6/6/23 Utility Dive post by Diana DiGangi and Jasmine Ye Han. Includes an interactive map showing 8 existing and proposed projects between Block Island and Nantucket totaling 6,978 MW with completion dates through 2028. Also includes an exhaustive list of recent and proposed federal and state legislation with opportunities for public input.
The Climate Solution That’s Horrible for the Climate 6/6/23 New York Times Opinion by Michael Grunwald (no paywall). “It’s fairly well-known that farm-grown fuels like corn ethanol and soy biodiesel accelerate food inflation and global hunger, but they’re also a disaster for the climate and the environment. And that’s mainly because they’re inefficient land hogs. It takes about 100 acres worth of biofuels to generate as much energy as a single acre of solar panels…” Planting, harvesting, refining, and distributing ethanol uses almost as much energy as the ethanol delivers.
Pending Connecticut law to protect utility ratepayers will backfire 6/6/23 Utility Dive Opinion by Brad Viator. The author argues that SB7 will scare investors away from CT utilities, causing a rise in interest rates that will make the utilities’ planned investments go less far and result in higher rates. Per a fastdemocracy.com web page on the bill, Conservation Law Foundation supported SB7 because it would ensure that utility company shareholders pay for utility
lobbying, trade associations, and advertising rather than recovering these costs from ratepayers; and because it may increase the capacity of stakeholders, individuals, and groups with limited resources to participate in PURA dockets.
Hundreds of US localities restrict renewables siting, with 293 projects currently contested: Columbia report 6/5/23 Utility Dive post by Diana DiGangi. “A report from Columbia Law School examined legal and regulatory obstacles to renewables projects, finding 228 local restrictions across 35 states as well as 293 projects that have received “significant opposition” in 45 states.”
Constellation sets hydrogen-gas plant blending record, but more advances needed for utility-scale use: experts 6/5/23 Utility Dive Brief by Emma Penrod. “A hydrogen blending trial at Constellation Energy’s Hillabee Generating Station, a 753-MW combined cycle natural gas plant in central Alabama, operated successfully on a 38% hydrogen blend with only minor modifications to the plant… Emissions of nitrogen oxide did not increase during the test…” The article says nothing about whether the hydrogen used came from electrolysis using wind and/or solar electricity – a.k.a. “green” hydrogen, or if it did then what percentage of the source electricity was lost due to the imperfect efficiency of that process. If it was “blue” hydrogen, made by burning gas to turn other gas into hydrogen and CO2, the carbon footprint is even worse. This is another case of semi-greenwashing fossil fuel use, similar to gas utilities’ suggestion that hydrogen could be mixed into their distribution systems and used for heating and cooking.