Apr 10 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Elizabeth Souder The Dallas Morning News

If Congress limits the amount of greenhouse gases that power plants may emit, the country will face a big challenge building enough transmission lines to support renewable power plants that don't emit carbon dioxide, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission official said Thursday.

That could be a headache, because "nobody wants a transmission line in their backyard," FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly said to a Gulf Coast Power Association conference on Thursday.

Transmission lines are just one niggly detail policy-makers will have to sort out if the U.S. regulates carbon dioxide emissions. There are also lots of details around storing or selling carbon dioxide, and who is responsible if the greenhouse gas leaks.

Though Congress is expected to regulate carbon dioxide, rules on the consequences of such regulation may fall to the states.

Already Texas power grid operators are considering new transmission lines to carry power from West Texas renewable energy zones to population centers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas estimates the new power lines could cost as much as $6.38 billion.

Some Texas power companies are considering building coal-fired power plants that store the carbon dioxide, rather than puff it into the air. The power companies could sell the gas to oil companies to inject into aging wells to boost production.

Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams said the idea brings up lots of questions for state regulators, such as: Who owns subsurface property where the carbon dioxide would be stored? Who's responsible for the carbon dioxide if it leaks out? How to monitor injection sites for leaks?

And a fundamental question for the West Texas native: "Is it a pollutant? Or is is it what I think it is, a commodity?"

Mr. Williams, who describes himself as a "bald-headed guy who wears bow ties and cowboy boots," said the Legislature isn't likely to answer those questions in their 2009 session. Sorting through the issues could take years.

During the next session, Mr. Williams would like to at least see Texas lawmakers offer incentives for power companies to collect carbon dioxide from coal plants, particularly if the coal plants use native Texas lignite for fuel.

Until more zero or low-carbon power plants can be built, along with the transmission lines to support them, Texas and the rest of the country will probably rely heavily on natural gas for power, Ms. Kelly with FERC said.

That could get expensive, particularly if domestic supply of natural gas becomes tight.

"The price of natural gas in a carbon-constrained economy is unlikely to go down," Public Utililty Commission chairman Barry Smitherman said during the conference.