WASHINGTON: Federal energy regulators on Monday approved a long-awaited rule making it easier to send renewable energy such as wind and solar power to the electric grid – a key part of President Joe Biden’s goal to eliminate economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 r.
The rule, two years in the making, aims to improve the nation’s aging power grid to meet growing demand driven by massive data centers, electrification of vehicles and buildings, artificial intelligence and other applications.
The increased demand comes as coal-fired power plants are phased out due to competition from natural gas and other energy sources are subject to increasingly stringent federal pollution regulations, which experts say could spell an electricity reliability crisis.
The network is also being tested for more habitual service interruptions during extreme weather events caused by climate change.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the up-to-date rule on a 2-1 vote, with Chairman Willie Phillips and fellow Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements voting in favor. Republican Mark Christie opposed the rule, dismissing it as a giveaway to solar and wind operators.
The sweeping, 1,300-page rule, which deals with transmission planning and cost allocation, will improve the nation’s aging transmission grid and ensure that American homes and businesses will keep their lights on for decades to come, Phillips said.
“This rule cannot be adopted quick enough,” he said at a packed committee meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Our network cannot wait.”
The U.S. power grid is “at a watershed moment” and is being tested daily, Phillips said, citing “phenomenal load growth from the nation’s manufacturing boom, the unprecedented construction of data centers fueling the artificial intelligence revolution and the ever-expanding electrification” of vehicles and buildings.
At the same time, aging infrastructure, a changing economy and a range of state and federal policies are leading to the withdrawal of time-honored resources, he said. “Furthermore, extreme weather events have become the norm and the electricity grid is regularly put to the brink.”
At the same time, construction of high-voltage power lines fell to a record low in 2022, “and much of that construction was simply patchwork repairs rather than building a visionary grid of the future,” Phillips said.
Many Republican-led utilities and states are reluctant to spend money on up-to-date transmission lines or renewable energy upgrades, creating conflicts with Democratic states that have ambitious immaculate energy goals.
Christie, the only Republican on the three-person panel, said the rule “completely fails to protect consumers” and fails to provide reliable, economical energy for American homes and businesses.
“Instead, this rule is a pretext for a sweeping policy agenda that Congress has never enacted,” he said. The rule is likely to lead to “a massive transfer of wealth from consumers to for-profit special interests,” mainly wind and solar operators, he said.
The rule is intended to streamline the placement of power lines and cost sharing among states. It could accelerate the construction of up-to-date transmission lines for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources and inject immense amounts of immaculate energy into the grid. Biden has set a goal of achieving a zero-emission energy sector by 2035 and net zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.
To meet these goals, the United States must more than double its current regional transmission capacity and fivefold the number of transmission lines between regions, according to a Department of Energy study last year.
Under current regulations, a gigantic pipeline of industrial-scale renewable energy sources cannot be connected to the grid due to the lack of available transmission capacity. This rule updates the agency’s planning process and is intended to determine how costs will be shared when transmission crosses state lines and passes through multiple regional power grid operators.
White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the FERC rule adds momentum to what he called “historic progress” under Biden’s leadership on immaculate energy. The up-to-date rule “will improve regional transmission planning, break down barriers to grid construction and support the delivery of cheaper and reliable energy,” Zaidi said.
The up-to-date rule “is as much common sense as it is historic,” Clements said, adding that it calls for more advanced planning and consideration of the reliability and affordability of up-to-date energy sources and fosters cooperation with states.
“Whether you’re planning a family vacation or planning a nationwide power system, planning ahead, taking a sober look at your options and making astute investment decisions will result in more affordable and reliable outcomes,” she said.
Christie questioned the agency’s actions.
Whether the policies promoted in the final rules “can be described as green, purple, red or blue is irrelevant,” Christie said. “The point is that FERC, as an independent agency, has no interest in promoting the policies of any party or president’s administration, especially when efforts to do so extend far beyond FERC’s legal authority.”
Clements responded by calling this rule “straight down the middle” as a matter of law.
Democrats and immaculate energy advocates welcomed the up-to-date rule as a way to bring immaculate and cost-effective electricity to the grid.
“Building more multi-state transmission lines unblocks America’s electricity highways and unlocks our ability to meet growing energy needs,” said Heather O’Neill, president and CEO of Advanced Energy United, which represents renewable energy providers.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the rule would build on immaculate energy incentives included in the landmark climate bill approved by Democrats in 2022.
The bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, has been a “tremendous success,” Schumer said Monday, “but much of that success would be lost without the ability to deliver energy from renewable energy sites to communities across the country.” FERC’s actions “will mean more economical, reliable, immaculate energy for the places that need it most,” he said.
The rule, two years in the making, aims to improve the nation’s aging power grid to meet growing demand driven by massive data centers, electrification of vehicles and buildings, artificial intelligence and other applications.
The increased demand comes as coal-fired power plants are phased out due to competition from natural gas and other energy sources are subject to increasingly stringent federal pollution regulations, which experts say could spell an electricity reliability crisis.
The network is also being tested for more habitual service interruptions during extreme weather events caused by climate change.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the up-to-date rule on a 2-1 vote, with Chairman Willie Phillips and fellow Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements voting in favor. Republican Mark Christie opposed the rule, dismissing it as a giveaway to solar and wind operators.
The sweeping, 1,300-page rule, which deals with transmission planning and cost allocation, will improve the nation’s aging transmission grid and ensure that American homes and businesses will keep their lights on for decades to come, Phillips said.
“This rule cannot be adopted quick enough,” he said at a packed committee meeting at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Our network cannot wait.”
The U.S. power grid is “at a watershed moment” and is being tested daily, Phillips said, citing “phenomenal load growth from the nation’s manufacturing boom, the unprecedented construction of data centers fueling the artificial intelligence revolution and the ever-expanding electrification” of vehicles and buildings.
At the same time, aging infrastructure, a changing economy and a range of state and federal policies are leading to the withdrawal of time-honored resources, he said. “Furthermore, extreme weather events have become the norm and the electricity grid is regularly put to the brink.”
At the same time, construction of high-voltage power lines fell to a record low in 2022, “and much of that construction was simply patchwork repairs rather than building a visionary grid of the future,” Phillips said.
Many Republican-led utilities and states are reluctant to spend money on up-to-date transmission lines or renewable energy upgrades, creating conflicts with Democratic states that have ambitious immaculate energy goals.
Christie, the only Republican on the three-person panel, said the rule “completely fails to protect consumers” and fails to provide reliable, economical energy for American homes and businesses.
“Instead, this rule is a pretext for a sweeping policy agenda that Congress has never enacted,” he said. The rule is likely to lead to “a massive transfer of wealth from consumers to for-profit special interests,” mainly wind and solar operators, he said.
The rule is intended to streamline the placement of power lines and cost sharing among states. It could accelerate the construction of up-to-date transmission lines for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources and inject immense amounts of immaculate energy into the grid. Biden has set a goal of achieving a zero-emission energy sector by 2035 and net zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.
To meet these goals, the United States must more than double its current regional transmission capacity and fivefold the number of transmission lines between regions, according to a Department of Energy study last year.
Under current regulations, a gigantic pipeline of industrial-scale renewable energy sources cannot be connected to the grid due to the lack of available transmission capacity. This rule updates the agency’s planning process and is intended to determine how costs will be shared when transmission crosses state lines and passes through multiple regional power grid operators.
White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the FERC rule adds momentum to what he called “historic progress” under Biden’s leadership on immaculate energy. The up-to-date rule “will improve regional transmission planning, break down barriers to grid construction and support the delivery of cheaper and reliable energy,” Zaidi said.
The up-to-date rule “is as much common sense as it is historic,” Clements said, adding that it calls for more advanced planning and consideration of the reliability and affordability of up-to-date energy sources and fosters cooperation with states.
“Whether you’re planning a family vacation or planning a nationwide power system, planning ahead, taking a sober look at your options and making astute investment decisions will result in more affordable and reliable outcomes,” she said.
Christie questioned the agency’s actions.
Whether the policies promoted in the final rules “can be described as green, purple, red or blue is irrelevant,” Christie said. “The point is that FERC, as an independent agency, has no interest in promoting the policies of any party or president’s administration, especially when efforts to do so extend far beyond FERC’s legal authority.”
Clements responded by calling this rule “straight down the middle” as a matter of law.
Democrats and immaculate energy advocates welcomed the up-to-date rule as a way to bring immaculate and cost-effective electricity to the grid.
“Building more multi-state transmission lines unblocks America’s electricity highways and unlocks our ability to meet growing energy needs,” said Heather O’Neill, president and CEO of Advanced Energy United, which represents renewable energy providers.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the rule would build on immaculate energy incentives included in the landmark climate bill approved by Democrats in 2022.
The bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, has been a “tremendous success,” Schumer said Monday, “but much of that success would be lost without the ability to deliver energy from renewable energy sites to communities across the country.” FERC’s actions “will mean more economical, reliable, immaculate energy for the places that need it most,” he said.
