FERC Transmission Rule Charts the Course for Cleaner, More Reliable Grid
WASHINGTON - Today the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced its long-awaited regional transmission rule, setting standards for the planning and development of new transmission lines that can improve reliability and affordability by bringing significant new energy resources online.
The rule also includes guidance on how costs for new transmission projects, which often cross state lines and grid regions, can be allocated.
FERC also issued rules governing how it will exercise its authority to approve certain power lines in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)–designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors when states reject or fail to act on a transmission project.
Following is a response from Cullen Howe, senior advocate with the Sustainable FERC Project at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).
“We urgently need every grid operator to determine where and what transmission lines to build. This rule brings everyone to the starting line for scaling up the clean energy transition.
“An expanded transmission system is not just a must for climate, it’s a must for running a reliable, affordable grid. The power system is changing, and this rule ensures the nation’s power grid will advance with clarity and consistency – rather than a haphazard approach that ignores the full range of benefits that new transmission can bring.
“With climate-fueled disasters posing ever-greater challenges to the grid, this rule will help shape a power grid that optimizes the capabilities of clean energy while prioritizing reliability and affordability. In addition, FERC’s backstop siting rule will help ensure that no one state can veto transmission lines that are in the general interest of the nation.”
Background
After decades of neglect, the U.S. power grid is struggling to integrate hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of new wind, solar and battery power.
We need to build a lot of transmission, and we need to do so quickly.
FERC has not updated its transmission planning standards for over a decade, and its previous effort (Order 1000) ultimately failed to produce the development of significant regional transmission projects. While some grid operators, like MISO the grid operator for Midwest, have initiated robust planning many others have lagged.
The outcomes speak for themselves: at MISO, just the first set of new transmission projects is estimated to provide 53 GW of new wind, solar and storage projects, which is enough to power 12 million homes. Building these new transmission lines and renewable projects is also expected to create around 330,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, dangerous and more frequent episodes of extreme weather—like Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, Hurricane Ida in 2021, and heat waves in 2020 and 2022 throughout the western United States—have highlighted the critical issue of moving electricity efficiently into affected areas, a challenge that compromises the reliability of the grid. The consequences have been severe, with instances of dangerous blackouts and, tragically, numerous avoidable deaths.
If we don’t act soon, billions in IRA benefits will be left on the table. Research indicates that new transmission construction must double to unlock much of the emissions reductions promised by the Inflation Reduction Act.
For more information on FERC’s transmission planning rule, please read Cullen Howe’s blog on the subject.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).