On New Year's Eve, Nevadans lost power as forecasted rain unexpectedly arrived in the form of a snowstorm that caused widespread outages. Heavy snow took out power lines and left tens of thousands in northern Nevada without power and in the cold. This type of event is not uncommon, but in today’s modern and technology-dependent world, keeping the lights and heat on is more and more of an imperative.
Topics: State Policy, Wholesale Markets, Nevada
In Texas, regulators and stakeholders are paving the way to a cleaner, more reliable future with a pilot project that puts flexible energy resources at the forefront of the state’s grid planning efforts. Following a months-long effort involving industry stakeholders and state regulators, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) voted unanimously on November 3 to greenlight a pilot project that will allow residential participants to receive compensation for their contributions to the state’s electrical grid.
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas
For the second time this year, Nevada’s energy leaders are convening to discuss the future of Nevada’s transmission system. Born from bipartisan (and AEE-supported) Senate Bill 448 (2021), the Regional Transmission Coordination (RTC) Task Force is charged with studying issues and policies related to transmission development and regional electricity markets for the Silver State. At the meeting today, the Task Force will hear about several competing efforts to create a more efficient and affordable western grid. There will be presentations from the California Independent System Operator, the Southwest Power Pool, and the Western Power Pool – each vying for Nevada’s attention and consideration. And while the exact contours of the West’s “Grid of the Future” remain to be determined, the benefits of a west-wide power system are becoming increasingly clear.
Topics: State Policy, Wholesale Markets, Economic Impact, Transmission, Nevada, Western RTO
The growth of renewable energy has been accompanied by a worrisome trend: rising delays and wait times for projects asking for connection to the grid. These holdups lead to canceled projects, lost jobs, and wasted effort. Without changes to interconnection, this trend will only worsen, as the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and rising fuel costs for conventional generation accelerate advanced energy adoption. Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took the first step toward streamlining the interconnection process, but there is a long way to go.
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Transmission
On July 25, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Board of Directors approved an ambitious long-term plan to expand transmission infrastructure in the MISO North and Central regions (now called MISO Midwest) to serve growing demands for renewable energy and improve system reliability. The Long-Term Regional Transmission Plan (LRTP) is the second such major long-term regional transmission plan approved by MISO in the past 12 years, building on the Multi-Value Projects (MVP) transmission plan approved by MISO in 2011. MISO’s long-range planning efforts in MISO Midwest can serve as a national model for how to conduct long-range transmission planning to meet the needs of a changing generation resource mix. Meanwhile, the fact that the MISO South region will not see a similar plan until 2024 at the earliest demonstrates the challenges that must be overcome to ensure such effective planning happens everywhere – and leads to development of the transmission needed for a clean energy future.
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Transmission