There is plenty of electricity in the West, but a paucity of it in the East.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Transmission is the wild card in the future of the U.S. utility industry as it struggles to meet the twin demands of load growth and decarbonization.

Ideally, the windy prairies and sunny deserts should be supplying power via long HDVC lines running between the renewables-rich West and the power-needy East.

Enough transmission would solve the problem of overproduction of solar during the day in Arizona and Colorado, which creates the “duck curve”; likewise, wind in several wind-rich states. The time difference would make that production valuable in the East.

The big question is whether there is enough political will to overcome the forces of NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard) to secure new rights-of-way through states and localities that aren’t direct beneficiaries.

Yet transmission is critical. "Many utilities now believe that the solution is to buttress the three grids -- Eastern, Western, and ERCOT -- and to go for shorter new lines, heavier connectors, and better use of existing rights of way to make the grids stronger and to allow the grids to handle the West-East flow, and sometimes the reverse," said journalist Llewellyn King. "This shoring might be the foundation for a truly national grid, but impediments abound."

The virtues of transmission are known: less battery storage, greater renewables availability, less new generation, and greater reliability. As some have said, transmission is storage.

Transmission will determine the future buildout of the utilities as they prepare to decarbonize and prepare for an electrified country with net-zero emissions by 2050, with electrified transportation, steel and cement making, and general manufacturing.

How will these goals be achieved and how completely? The DOE has earmarked billions of dollars for transmission. How will it be spent?

The United States Energy Association, as part of its virtual press briefing series, has assembled a panel of experts to examine the vital issue of transmission, on Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. They will be questioned by a panel of knowledgeable journalists. USEA Acting Executive Director Sheila Hollis will give opening and closing remarks. Llewellyn King will serve as moderator and has organized this and previous briefings.

The expert panel:

Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office, DOE
Philip Moeller, Executive Vice President, Edison Electric Institute
Duane Highley, President, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.
Michael Skelly, President, Grid United

The press panel:

Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal
K. Kaufmann, RTO Insider
Rod Kuckro, Freelance
Matt Chester, Energy Central

The briefing, which will be held on Zoom, is open to the media and the public. The audience is encouraged to submit questions via the chat function.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3Zj9YsyjTe6aSCxhkYhFmA

Llewellyn King
White House Media LLC
+1 202-441-2702
llewellynking1@gmail.com
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