Renewable energy transmission initiative gains power

San Francisco Business Times -

9:23 AM PDT Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The state of California has formed a public-private partnership to consider the feasibility of building new transmission lines to access renewable power generation.

The program, dubbed the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) is a means to rapidly develop green energy to meet the state's mandate of producing 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and goal of 33 percent by 2020.

California is home to significant geothermal, wind and solar resources, but getting that renewable energy to the electric transmission grid poses challenges. RETI would bring green electricity to the grid as it is generated from isolated areas of the state or possibly adjoining states.

The California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, the California Independent System Operator (California ISO) and representatives of publicly owned utilities, including Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), are heading the initiative.

Transmission lines for electricity from renewable sources become critical as predominantly out-of-state coal-fired power plants, which produce approximately 17 percent of California's electricity, begin to provide a smaller percentage of the state's electricity as mandated by the Electricity Emissions of Greenhouse Gases (SB 1368, Perata) to reduce greenhouse gases contributing to global warming.

RETI plans to identify major renewable zones to be developed throughout the state and to rank all renewable resource areas in and around the state to establish an order in which transmission lines to these areas should be developed.

On September 20, the group's sponsors and stakeholders will meet at its first public forum to discus the initiative and the process.

"Rapid development of renewable resource areas throughout California is necessary to meet this renewable energy goal," said Energy Commissioner Jeffrey Byron in a statement. "RETI should result in transmission solutions that everyone can agree on to bring renewable energy resources to the grid." More information is available at www.energy.ca.gov/reti/