NEED NEW WIRES FOR NEW ENERGY

Want headlines? Come up with something counterintuitive. Here’s one: More power on the national grid will lead to more blackouts.

A new report from the The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) seems designed to create just such controversy and attention.

It could be concluded from NERC’s Electric Industry Concerns on the Reliability Impacts of Climate Change Initiatives that if the U.S. is too hasty at doing away with its precious coal plants in favor of New Energy, the nation will be plunged periodically and unpredictably into darkness. (and despair?)

Rick Sergel, President/CEO, NERC: “The transmission system is being used closer to its limits more of the time than at any time in the past…”

The report is the result of energy industry experts being “…asked to identify bulk power system reliability concerns, impacts, or positive developments related to climate change initiatives.”

Because, ready or not, climate change initiatives are coming to North America.

More than half of U.S. states and several Canadian provinces (the grid systems are interlinked) have Renewable Electricity Standards (RESs) requiring utilities to build (or support the building of with power purchases) New Energy infrastructure. Both countries have national RESs under consideration.

National climate change legislation that includes a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GhGs) is also on the policy agenda in both the U.S. and Canada. Two Canadian provinces are already experimenting with emissions taxes.

These political initiatives will introduce a lot more New Energy and probably a lot more natural gas into the power generation mix.

They will also facilitate the development of “demand side” initiatives in which the consumption of electricity is managed by computerized appliances and machinery in homes and businesses.

The grids for both the U.S. and Canada are old and inadequate to these tasks. New, high-voltage transmission - and a lot of it - will be needed to maintain delivery reliability.

To characterize this as a matter of problems caused by New Energy or policies aimed at reducing GhGs is just plain silly.

So are the antics of Paris Hilton and her sans-skivvies girlfriends but they get attention.

According to one anti-coal activist, “…the report is just a survey of electrical industry respondents … it is the usual industry talking points … much of it actually supports the need for climate change legislation ASAP…”

The NERC report lays out a series of crucial matters that must be definitively decided so electricity generation and transmission can be handled reliably. GhG reduction legislation must be clearly defined and consistently implemented.

The report: "A decision on national climate change legislation is needed…Provide regulatory certainty to the electric industry, clearly articulating requirements and interaction with state, provincial and regional initiatives."

Regulatory streamlining is vital to allow new transmission to go forward despite Not-In-My-BackYard (NIMBY) resistance and rights-of-way obstructions.

Generalizable requirements must be established so that firm standards can be set. This will be important in building a grid that can integrate natural gas and New Energy and a grid that can integrate demand response (“smart grid”) mechanisms.

What the highly capable professionals in the power industry want most is clear policy and clear rules.

Dan Steen, VP Environmental, FirstEnergy Service Company: “This uncertainty makes it difficult to determine the potential impact and risks associated with GHG emissions; to make effective, strategic capital investment decisions; and to project our costs, revenues, and profits. A clear national policy on global climate change is needed for our industry to plan for the future…”

The report contains warnings and identifies obstacles to change done the wrong way but also indicates an openness to new opportunities.

The report: "An additional benefit of demand-side resources is their ability to complement the variability of intermittent resources such as wind power and provide operational flexibility during the sharp downramps that can occur as output declines."

NERC sees big opportunities in the coming changes: "Mandatory greenhouse gas regulations at the federal level will trigger technology innovation throughout the economy and change the way we manage our resources, including investments in clean technologies that increase efficiency, reduce energy demand, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

From the NERC report. (click to enlarge)

Report Calls for Overhaul of Power Grid to Handle Sun and Wind Power
Matthew L. Wald, November 9, 2008 (NY Times)
and
Climate Policy Critical to Grid Reliability
November 10, 2008 (NERC)

WHO
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) (Rick Sergel, President/CEO)

WHAT
Electric Industry Concerns on the Reliability Impacts of Climate Change Initiatives is a collation of electric and transmission industry professionals’ concerns of how impending national climate change legislation and national Renewable Electricity Standards (RESs) will affect the reliability of power transmission.

From the NERC report. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The report includes replies from power industry professionals from June 16, 2008 through July 16, 2008.
- The Obama campaign platform called for a national RES requiring U.S. utilities to obtain 10% of their power from New Energy sources by 2012 and 25% by 2025.

WHERE
- The NERC report’s findings are an assimilation of concerns submitted by 50 electricity generation and transmission entities from across all regions of Canada and the U.S.
- Emssions-reduction rules are already in place in 27 states and four Canadian provinces.
- National climate change legislation and RESs are on the policy agenda in both the U.S. and Canada.
- Coal plants, because they are older, are usually nearer centers of power demand than the rural and remote sites where wind installations are being developed and solar power plants are being planned
- NERC is based in Princeton, N.J.

WHY
- NERC federal authority charged with maintaining transmission sysgtem reliability and rules.
- National emissions reduction initiatives are the “No. 1 emerging issue” for the grid.
- National emissions reduction systems could change power generation in ways that will strain the existing grid because it was not designed for large power transmission over long distances.
- Key reliability issues raised in the report:
(1) Moving to natural gas may impact reliability.
(2) Planning for “development, siting, construction and operation” of new transmission
infrastructure is needed to meet the “goals and objectives” of climate change efforts.
(3) Efforts to manage demand will need “integration and verification” (a smart grid) to maintain supply reliability.
(4) National climate change legislation is needed.
- To maintain grid reliability, the report says climate change legislation and national RESs must:
(1) Address the impacts of more natural gas and New Energy on old transmission.
(2) Support “development, siting, and construction of new transmission infrastructure.
(3) Support demand-side (smart grid) resource development.
(4) Create “regulatory certainty.”

From the NERC report. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Kenneth W. Farmer, executive director, Beauregard Electric Cooperative: “It appears that greenhouse gas issues and electric utility reliability are on a collision course.”
- Rick Sergel, President/CEO, NERC: “We are concerned that, when viewed from a continent-wide perspective, current climate initiatives do not adequately address key reliability objectives, particularly the need for a strong and robust transmission system,” commented Rick Sergel, President and CEO of NERC. “As we consider our energy future, it becomes increasingly clear that our success in reducing carbon emissions and realizing energy independence will hinge on our ability to provide reliable, clean, electricity where and when it is needed.”