January 4, 2010 AWEA and SEIA Filing in Support of WIRES' Request Comments filed with FERC by American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Jan. 4, 2010, in support of Nov. 12, 2009 Petition
November 23, 2009 WIRES Submits Comments Responding to FERC Staff’s Oct. 8, 2009 Notice Regarding Transmission Planning Processes Under Order 890 Read the WIRES Order 890 Comments
November 12, 2009 WIRES Petitions FERC, Calling for Aggressive Action On Cost Allocation Principles to Help Speed Grid Development News ReleaseClimateWire Story
FERC Tackles ICC v. FERC Remand By Asking More Questions On Cost Allocation, ferc.gov (January 21, 2010) E-17, PJM Interconnection, Docket No. EL05-121-006. The Commission established a paper hearing on allocation of the costs of new transmission facilities that operate at or above 500 kilovolts (kV) in PJM, to supplement the record in response to a remand from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found that the Commission had not provided sufficient record evidence to justify its adoption of a postage-stamp cost allocation methodology for new transmission facilities operating at or above 500 kV. The paper hearing procedures established include the provision of certain information by PJM Interconnection, LLC, followed by initial and reply comments by PJM and other parties to the proceeding.
New Studies by Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Demonstrate More Transmission Will Be Needed For Integrating Wind And Other Renewables Into The Power Mix (January 20, 2010)
WIRES Petitions FERC, Calling for Aggressive Action On Cost Allocation Principles to Help Speed Grid Development (November 12, 2009) News ReleasePetition See also: ClimateWire Story See more news in the WIRES Newsroom
"We think the WIRES report represents something of a breakthrough because it is the first truly comprehensive study that looks across the country, across all regulatory jurisdictions, and across different industry silos. In each case it examines what works, what is actually getting done, what doesn’t work, and why, regrettably, nothing is happening in far too many places." -- From the Morgan Stanley Research, Electric Utilities newsletter 10/27/08
“[A] comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives... will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America” -- President Obama, State of the Union message, January 27, 2010.
"The current approach to transmission cost allocation is unlikely to result in transmission being built sufficiently quickly to expand renewable energy production. Setting clear rules for transmission cost allocation would reduce uncertainty and litigation, minimizing delays in transmission projects. Clear transmission cost allocation rules would also benefit consumers... We believe that the West and the nation could benefit immensely if the enormous renewable energy potential of each of the States you govern were to be fully realized. However, that will require a more cooperative and fact-based approach to developing renewable energy and the transmission needed to integrate it."
-- December 16,2009 letter to five western governors from U.S. Senators Harry Reid and Jeff Bingaman
"Transmission is the biggest constraint. Typically it takes eight to 10 years to plan, permit, and build a high-voltage transmission line. The commission has projected that California will need to build five such lines to meet its 2020 renewable-power goals. The likelihood that that will happen is even lower than the likelihood that Los Angeles will ban Botox." -- Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission from "The California Experiment" in The Atlantic, October 2009.
