The future of energy infrastructure

Benjamin Falber
Transmission lines keep much the same challenge and promise of the interstate highway system a century ago. The transmission system - the high voltage, long distance power lines that carry electricity from power-facilities and in communities - currently a patchwork system, lack central organization or planning. Under the assumption that not 100% clean energy reach America with distributed resources, transportation of renewable electrical energy across borders is to realize a big hurdle for a future without fossil fuels.

Transmission line siting is domination of the State. In General, the Federal Government regulates the amount of electricity that travels in the transmission and sale of electricity. Choice of location is a matter of local land use controls, and State sovereignty. Each transmission line that crosses a State line must lay in the years long and beautiful process of each individual State.

America has massive potential for renewable energy. The Great Plains the wind was referred to the Saudi Arabia. This photo has circulated was the Internet shows how little solar we would need, makes to the world. Wyoming has nowhere to sell wind energy.

How are the transmission lines built to move this energy from geographically remote locations to urban areas throughout the country? Why would any State victims to its sovereignty and carry the ecological, social, political and economic burden cover in line transmission systems, to serve from Government end users? It is a problem more complicated than those requiring more renewable energy. It requires the Federal Government, or perhaps regional Interstate is compressed federalist, land use, economic and political values regarding the environment.

First alert transmission lines of the country after a series of power cuts in the early 2000s. Addressing these reliability issues and the underlying problem of transmission line bottlenecks, the energy policy Act of 2005 under the direction of the DOE national interest electric transmission corridors ("NIETCs") establish and gave FERC some additional authority over transmission line siting within NIETCs. Here is a complete list of these regulations and the resulting legal dispute [PDF (s. 8)]. Basically eight years later, the NIETCs are not yet available and FERCs legend authority limited to knowing how a jump if a State Act a NIETC permit does not within one year of the decision on a transfer, the choice of location.

The PDF file above quoted is focused on FERCs authority and not quite what keeps the best solution may be for the transmission line issue: regional Interstate compacts. Authorized by the energy by 2005, States of three can Policy Act or more regional compacts creating legend authority somewhere acts signed as a layer of Government between the Federal Republic and the State. It offers to preserve a way of State sovereignty, and offer the ease of managing a single Forum multi state line to allow for transfer. Rules would be created for the application procedure and federal courts would judicial review for right of appeal. Importantly, could the Member States work together, use regional look at. Kansas takes the lead with House Bill 2101, which authorizes a regional compact and Senate Committee on utilities 1 now in that State after passing the House-118.

Interstate compacts can benefit the goals of the FERC order 1000 [PDF], that planning should incorporate renewable energy targets in transmission. Moreover, these Minis could push RPS State programs, in particular, that require State generation (which is unconstitutional in any case), to reconsider the amount of energy, which could be delivered and where it comes from. You can also be more tasty, if lines were underground natural gas pipelines or offshore.

Utility-scale renewable energy facilities to find a way and there are several forces promotes. The 7th Circuit upheld only MISO's plan, finance transmission lines that will carry the wind energy supply from remote areas of the Great Plains to the demand of the urban areas in the entire service area. MISO's plan is essentially all utilities, the cost of "Multi Value Projects" instead of the traditional method of transmission cost allocation for geographically on the next utilities, (transmission lines built, provide renewable energy for other purposes), require proportionally to share more put a strain on urban areas.

The idea of wedge exists yet; There are still many free energy solutions. I as a co-author short article about the viability of Microgrids for climate resilient communities and interconnection rules for small renewable generation. It was an exciting time to track the evolution of spectrum regulation and storage. These solutions and to develop more wrestling with several value systems, is the best solution. As far as transmission lines, go under current federal laws, the regional interstate compacts seem promising.

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