Public Power - January/February 2009 - (Page 31)

mandate by building the transmission needed to bring it to market,” says Tripp. To facilitate construction, “ERCOT has said everybody will share the costs of the new transmission, which will be prorated across all users of the system.” She adds that California is following suit in its efforts to integrate 4,500 MW of wind into its system by filing for and getting FERC approval for passing an allocation of the costs of new transmission (for renewables) to all ratepayers. Wind has brought regional—even national—electric transmission issues to the fore. “The really positive side of all this interest in wind, and growing recognition of its potential expansion, is that it has stimulated transmission-planning efforts all around the country, especially in regions where wind resources are significant: the upper Midwest, Texas, California, the Northeast and Northwest,” said Thomas Key, manager of renewable energy at EPRI. Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, California and Texas have established pro-active transmission policies for wind and other forms of renewable energy according to AWEA. Moreover, FERC ruled in 2007 in support of this process: one of FERC’s key rulings, Order 890, establishes “conditional firm” contracts for transmission that will allow new wind generators greater access to existing lines. Several institutions have begun exploring the idea of a “transmission superhighway” to enhance renewable energy development across the country. DOE’s report says that NREL’s Wind Deployment System model found “it would be cost-effective to build more than 12,000 miles of additional transmission at a cost of $20 billion in net-present value terms.” Other studies come to similar conclusions, according to DOE. One that has received some publicity of late is a conceptual plan by AEP, analogous to the interstate highway system, which would add 19,000 miles of 765-kV line at a cost of $26 billion. Easier said than done, as pointed out by Randy Becker. “Developing a transmission spine like you would find in a smaller country will be exceedingly difficult in the United States,” he said. “The balkanization of the regulatory regime in the United States, with 50 PUCs as well as FERC, www.APPAnet.org leaves us with no national scheme.” Compounding the problem are the regulatory, economic and environmental difficulties in establishing rights of way, the long lag time involved in transmission construction (five to seven years), and public acceptance. “Transmission is a huge issue because nobody wants it,” says Tripp. “‘Not in my backyard’ is the real stumbling block.” DOE has the stopgap authority to establish national transmission corridors but has not yet exercised the option, said Ed DeMeo. The difficulty with eminent domain or the traditional outright purchase of a rightof-way is “that the process of a one-time payment immediately devalues the land that the line will cross. If, on the other hand, the land owner were to receive an ongoing revenue stream, the land value would likely increase,” he said. A similar model is used for farmers and ranchers upon whose land wind turbines are installed. They typically receive $2,000 to $3,000 per machine per year, a highly welcome supplement to rural income. Assuming transmission becomes available, the final hurdle is how to integrate a variable resource like wind into power system operations. DeMeo said recent experience in Europe and a number of analytic studies indicate this will be less a problem in the long run than it seems at present. “Keep in mind that wind is not an intermittent source, in the sense of being on and off. Rather, it is variable, and this industry has a lot of experience in dealing with variability in load. Wind increases the amount of variability a utility has to manage, but it is not a showstopper. It will, however, impose an additional cost, which many studies have shown is less than five mills per kWh of wind energy in most cases. The United States can tap Europe’s great base of experience in assessing and accommodating wind penetration levels of 20 percent and higher. Longer term, we will be moving toward a whole different paradigm where the first question will be how much can we get from low-carbon resources, and then second, how can we round this out with more traditional sources of supply.” ❚ Brent Barker is a freelance writer in Palo Alto, Calif. Line up the reels not the trailer Turret Trailers Available in one, two, three, or four reel configurations. These galvanized turret frames lock on 6 degree intervals. Mobile frame units are ideal for use with your existing vehicles! Get more information on these and other useful products such as Pole Trailers, Self-Loading Trailers, Pullers and much more. Call our toll-free number below. 10 North Sauber Road Virgil, IL 60151 ph. 800.323.9147 fax 800.833.3264 SAUBERMFG.COM January-February 2009 31 http://www.saubermfg.com http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - January/February 2009

Public Power - December 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Heat or Eat? Achieving Excellence in Nuclear Operations Training Grand Ambitions for Wind Power Visions of Green Carbon Trading Across The Pond Reliability Green Energy Customer Service DEED Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - January/February 2009

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