Will Squabbling over New Transmission Cost Allocations Squander Big Opportunities for Renewable Energy Growth?

Utilities will spend approximately $56 billion on transmission through 2010. (Edison Electric Institute, 2010)

That's a staggering number.

As much as we debate the manufacturing economics and generation efficiencies of wind turbines and solar panels, the real future of commercial-scale renewable projects hinges on the ability of the grid to deliver green kilowatts where and when they are needed. Power from wind and solar assets is most often distributed within the local or regional transmission systems where they are sited. However, aggressive renewable portfolio standards imposed by state and federal mandate will mean that new renewable capacity will have to be built, and output will have to cross multiple transmission control areas.

The good news is that there has been a surge of innovative new technology and approved projects that will stitch together the nation's interconnections and provide a reliable, unified grid. The challenge is that this transmission infrastructure is going to require centralized planning and cost allocation, -- not an easy pill to swallow for some utilities that are used to their own regional control on access, expenditures, and market structure. Despite a lot of support from green energy and reliability advocates, FERC's recently proposed rules for implementing centralized control and cost allocation of new grid projects have met with plenty of circumspection and resistance. What will be the outcome of this debate, and how will it affect the timetables to build the desperately-needed, modern transmission infrastructure that is crucial to reliability, demand response, and renewable energy investment?

Pioneers in innovative transmission projects, Tres Amigas CEO, Phil Harris, and Trans-Elect CEO, Robert Mitchell, will come together at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum for a special discussion, "The Deliverers -- Getting the transmission Built." The panelists will attempt to answer these and other questions on the challenges and revolutionary opportunities provided by a major modernization of the grid. Phil Harris, a founder of PJM, is working in the trenches to develop the nation's first "superstation" that will stitch together the East Coast, West Coast, and ERCOT power grids. Among other innovative projects, Mitchell is working on "The Atlantic Wind Connection" a transmission project that will capture the enormous potential of offshore wind energy along the Mid-Atlantic coast.

Learn from leading transmission innovators what can get done, what obstacles must be confronted – and where transmission is headed. How will energy delivery be transformed in the coming decade, and what business opportunities await us?

With so much of the energy/utility industry's future riding on new transmission infrastructure, this will be one of the most interesting and anticipated sessions at this year's EnergyBiz Leadership Forum. Join us as we identify the innovations, opportunities and challenges in the battle to build a better grid.

EnergyBiz Leadership Forum is the industry's most comprehensive and strategic conference, bringing together influential leaders in energy, government, and media. The Forum offers in-depth, realistic perspectives on energy industry issues that impact utility investment strategies and performance. For complete program and registration details visit www.EnergyBizForum.com.

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