New grid rule will 'unlock potential' of US wind power: industry groups

FERC's order 1920 requiring long term planning and integration of new resources will enable cost savings for offshore wind, groups claim

Willie Phillips, FERC chairman.
Willie Phillips, FERC chairman.Photo: FERC

US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s final rule on long term transmission planning issued Monday will help unlock offshore wind's potential but can’t be the finish line for grid policy development, industry groups said.

FERC, overseer of interstate power and natural gas sales, announced its order no. 1920 requiring the nation’s grid operators “conduct long-term planning for regional transmission facilities and determine how to pay for them”.

Onshore and offshore transmission is a growing US energy transition concern, with FERC’s queue for interconnecting new generation projects – virtually all renewables – having grown to 2.4TW, almost double US power generation capacity.
Studies by Brattle Group and others found that planned offshore wind transmission including at-sea grids could save billions in sector costs, and states led by pioneer New Jersey as well as New York and Maryland are already taking steps.

“Greater planned and coordinated development that crosses state lines can greatly reduce costs, improve environmental benefits, balance the onshore grid, and importantly facilitate industry’s timely development,” Sam Salustro, vice president of strategic communications at industry advocacy group Oceantic Network.

“Today’s ruling helps unlock offshore wind’s true potential,” he added.

The order clarifies that customers pay only for projects from which they benefit and expands states’ role throughout the process of planning, selecting, and determining cost allocation transmission facilities, FERC said.

It also requires grid operators to upgrade of existing transmission facilities and grid enhancing technologies (GETs) to raise capacity and improve performance.

Ray Long, CEO of industry group American Council on Renewable Energy (Acore) said if properly implemented, FERC’s rule will “enable the delivery of power from cleaner and more affordable electricity generation that will benefit consumers all across America.

American Clean Power Association (ACP)’s vice president of markets & transmission Carrie Zalewski said it was an “important milestone in the development of the transmission infrastructure our nation needs—but it cannot be the finish line.”

Zalewski said more is needed to integrate new resources and enable more transmission between regions.

“With demand for electricity growing, extreme weather becoming more common, and America’s power grid getting older and struggling to keep pace with the need for transmission expansion, the time to act is now,” she said.

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Published 13 May 2024, 23:16Updated 14 May 2024, 06:37
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