In less than ten years, our nation has made important progress in moving renewable energy from the research and demonstration stage to commercial reality. Notably, wind power has accounted for about 40 percent of all new resource additions to our national electric grid since 2008, right behind natural gas, and we are starting to see the deployment of solar power at commercial scale.
But momentum could be lost if we can’t put in place the next generation of transmission that is determined necessary to deliver green electrons from the places rich in renewable resources to homes and businesses throughout our diverse regions.
This week, Commissioners and Governors’ representatives from across the Southwest will meet at Arizona State University (ASU) to discuss how to encourage the construction of a robust, renewable energy-focused transmission grid, while respecting local and regional environmental values.
States like California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have made significant commitments to renewable energy by adopting ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standards (“RPS”) for our utilities, ranging from 15 percent to 33 percent. And we are also national leaders in embracing energy efficiency. Because new energy supplies – even renewables and transmission lines to carry those renewables – have costs and environmental impacts, all our states embrace energy efficiency as a resource at the same time we are planning, permitting and building renewables and transmission to meet the remaining needs.
But as the Southwest’s new renewable energy economy takes off, it is becoming increasingly clear that the success of many future renewable energy projects will hinge on the availability of the high voltage pathways needed to get their clean electrons to consumers.
Each of our states has already taken steps to encourage utilities and stakeholders to identify our vast renewable resources and the transmission lines necessary to take this renewable energy, often located in remote locations, to the population centers within our borders. We have supported open processes that encourage consumers and environmentalists to participate, with the goal of minimizing costs and environmental impacts.
But we believe that it also makes sense to view transmission planning through a regional lens. Not all renewable energy will be produced by and used inside a given state. In order to achieve the best mix of renewable energy possible for our utilities and ratepayers, most states will both import and export some renewable energy, as long as the transmission lines necessary to do it are in place.
Our meeting at ASU expands on existing renewable energy transmission planning underway in both the East and the West. These include a project to identify Western renewable energy zones that produced an initial report last year and new efforts funded under the federal stimulus bill for states to collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders on planning for the future of the electric grid.
Even as the Southwest works to promote appropriate renewable energy transmission, Congress is mulling whether to make decisions regarding where and how to site large transmission lines a federal matter. Recently introduced legislation would allow state decisions over power line permitting to be overturned by a federal agency, effectively gutting the ability of states to plan for transmission that is tailored to the needs of our respective regions. It may also lead to overbuilding of transmission since state determinations of what is truly needed or the role of energy efficiency in avoiding new construction could be ignored.
Proponents of federalizing transmission siting believe that utilities and states are not doing enough to speed along the transmission system of the future.
However, it is the view of most public utility commissioners in the West that the proper province of power line permitting continues to be the states, which are best suited to respond to the concerns of local residents, implement state policy goals for clean energy, and mitigate environmental impacts associated with proposed high voltage lines.
We recognize the sense of urgency felt by members of Congress and the President about the need to build a strong and reliable renewable energy transmission system that benefits all consumers.
Because we share those concerns, we are coming together pro-actively and jointly to show that the states are up to the tasks and challenges we face. And as we convene the forces responsible for building out this critical energy infrastructure, we believe that the states – working together – can get the job done.
This commentary was signed by Dian Grueneich, California Public Utilities Commissioner; Kris Mayes, Arizona Corporation Commissioner; Rebecca Wagner, Nevada Public Utilities Commissioner; Jason Marks, New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner; and Jim Tarpey, Colorado Public Utilities Commissioner. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
