Majority Leader Reid Introduces Renewables-Focused Transmission Bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced the first of what may be several transmission bills aimed at harnessing renewable energy.

Introduced on Thursday, the bill addresses several issues important to the renewable energy industry. In a publicly issued statement to President Obama, Reid underscored the importance of building transmission to access and deliver renewables to markets: “Otherwise, [without new transmission] the vast clean renewable power in the sun, wind, and geothermal resources … will never get to consumers.”

The Clean Renewable Energy and Economic Development Act is intended to promote investments in transmission to increase access to renewable energy that is often located in rural areas, while also establishing a streamlined planning and siting process for transmission lines. Several proposals included in a white paper recently released by AWEA and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in fact, are reflected in the bill (see Wind Energy Weekly#1326).

The bill directs the President to designate “renewable energy zones” that have at least 1,000 MW in renewable energy potential but lack transmission. The bill also addresses the need for national-level transmission planning in order to make the currently antiquated and fragmented grid more efficient and cost-effective as well as increase its ability to tap renewable-energy resources.

Under the planning process, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would certify one or more organizations as the regional planning entity for an interconnection. Those entities would then submit a plan to FERC for its approval. The objective of the plan would be to enhance transmission access for electricity from renewable energy in renewable energy zones, while recognizing national economic, reliability, and security goals. The planning process would also be based on established and projected federal and state renewable energy policies and targets.

In order to ensure that siting of transmission is efficient and does not get caught up in long delays, the legislation includes provisions for FERC to serve as the siting authority for projects that are part of a FERC-approved transmission plan. The bill requires transmission projects that use federal siting authority to ensure that at least 75% of the capacity on such lines is available to renewable generation.

The bill also addresses another issue key to renewables-friendly transmission development: cost allocation. Pursuant to the bill, state utility commissioners and regional planning entities may jointly propose means of cost allocation to FERC. If no cost allocation methodology is filed within a specified time, FERCwould allocate costs to all users of the transmission system in a region of an interconnection or throughout an interconnection.

“We appreciate Senator Reid’s leadership addressing transmission for our renewable energy future,” AWEA Policy Director Rob Gramlich said in a statement. “Many of the proposals in the AWEA-SEIA white paper on transmission are reflected in this bill. We look forward to working with Senator Reid, other Members of Congress, states, and other stakeholders to achieve consensus around the three major components that are required to access and deliver significant amounts of renewable energy: interconnection-wide planning, interconnection-wide cost allocation, and consolidated permitting.”

Reid, who last week held a clean energy and transmission summit with participants that included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, oil man T. Boone Pickens, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and AWEA CEO Denise Bode, suggested that the bill only marks the beginning of legislative discussion on the topic.

“This bill is not perfect and has ample room for improvement,” he said. “But as the bill works its way through the legislative process, I am hopeful that people will come together in good faith and propose revisions that will help solve the problems that we tried to identify at the Summit.”