Advanced Energy Perspectives

Last May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1920, a landmark order requiring all transmission providers to engage in multi-value long-term regional transmission planning. The order grants states significant opportunities to engage in this process. In December, the Commission issued Order No. 1920-A, responding to issues raised on rehearing (where parties can argue that the Commission should have ruled differently on specific issues in the final order). Order No. 1920-A expanded the role of states in the planning process. Since then, all the multi-state RTO/ISO regions have requested extensions, giving states and transmission providers additional time to craft compliance plans. States can use this extra time to work together to identify priorities and reach alignment on key questions raised by the order.

Below, we outline the key decisions and actions states can take to influence compliance and to engage in implementation once the planning process begins.

In Nevada, the need to significantly expand power generation, transmission capacity, and regional resource sharing is urgent as the state’s energy grid struggles to keep up with rapid economic and industrial growth. Northern Nevada’s energy grid, for example, could quadruple in size as the data-storage industry continues to grow and expand in the Reno-Sparks area and beyond. Strengthening and expanding transmission lines will be especially critical to ensure that the growing demand for energy can be met as new advanced energy resources come online.

In response to this need, nearly four years ago, Senate Bill 448 created a Regional Transmission Coordination Task Force to help shape Nevada’s energy future. The Task Force is responsible for studying issues and policies related to transmission development and regional electricity markets, both of which are key solutions to deal with load growth.  

The process of integrating new electricity sources to the power grid—known as “generator interconnection”—must be reformed to realize the full potential of widely available and affordable energy resources like wind, solar, and energy storage technologies. Especially at a time of rising electricity demand, the results of a reformed interconnection process are paramount to energy deployment across regions, impacting affordability and reliability for customers of all classes. 

Today, United published a new report authored by Power Advisory entitled How Interconnection Reform Can Accelerate Clean Energy Deployment, which quantifies the advanced energy deployment gains states could see from implementing interconnection process improvements. The key message of the report? Improving interconnection processes can significantly boost energy deployment, delivering much needed electricity generation and economic benefits.