States urge federal regulators to ensure access for green power

DENVER, Colorado, US, December 6, 2006 (Refocus Weekly)

A group of U.S. governors has urged federal regulators to reform the national power transmission system to provide greater access for green power.

The Western Governors Association wants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to adopt transmission reforms that would promote more flexible use of existing transmission systems, and provide greater access for generators of intermittent energy to get their product to market. Many transmission paths in the western part of the U.S. operate at full capacity for only short, seasonal periods of the year, and the WGA says a new category of transmission service, ‘conditional firm,’ would allow sources of intermittent power to obtain long-term guarantees to transmission lines during off-peak periods.

Guaranteed access to transmission is essential for intermittent generators, such as wind and solar PV, to obtain financing for their projects, the governors note.

They also support ‘re-dispatch’ reforms to promote more efficient use of the grid. Depending on power flows, generators at different parts of the grid can be ramped up or down to increase the capacity of grid to move more lower-cost power, which can lower costs to consumers.

“We believe that conditional firm transmission service and re-dispatch are important services to fully utilize the existing transmission grid and to enable new intermittent generation resources to reach markets,” the governors explain in a letter to FERC. “Greater use of the existing transmission system is a necessary complement to the concerted effort of Western Governors to expand the western transmission system.”

The WGA adopted a policy earlier this year which supports the new federal rule, based on recommendations from stakeholders in a WGA advisory committee. The change of FERC rules was one of several recommendations made to develop 30,000 MW of clean energy resources, and to ensure the western states will have secure and reliable transmission for the next 25 years.

The WGA represents the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through the non-profit group, western governors address policy and governance issues in energy, environment, resources and other issues.

The American Wind Energy Association welcomed the support, noting the reforms would “ensure that more clean, domestic, renewable energy sources like wind get to market, while improving the overall efficiency of the nation's transmission system.”

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