The issue
The earliest generation fuel sources used in the U.S. were largely transportable fossil fuels. Power plants were built near load centers, and the fuel was transported to where it was needed. With growing concerns about climate change and reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, renewable fuel sources are becoming an ever-larger portion of our fuel portfolio.
2018 Variable Generation Capacity (Existing and Proposed)
The complication is – because communities typically choose to locate where the wind doesn’t howl and the sun doesn’t blaze – renewable fuel sources are not typically located near load centers and renewable fuel sources cannot be transported like so many lumps of coal. They are where they are, and transmission is needed to get their power to where we can use it.
How we got to this point
Drivers for New Transmission Construction (>200 kV) Through 2013
Our nation’s transmission system was built to serve local load with local generation. It has been forced into a role for which it was not constructed – facilitating massive numbers of wholesale energy transactions across long distances. And over the past several decades, regulatory uncertainty has resulted in inadequate upgrades and expansions of the existing transmission system into one that is better-suited for its current and future roles.
Meanwhile, we have seen a massive growth in renewable generation, especially wind and solar. Both of these fuel sources are variable, meaning humans cannot control their production levels. And that means that additional base load generation (traditional fuel sources) still must be built and interconnected to protect the system against unexpected generation swings from renewable facilities.
What the industry says
Although the majority of the industry agrees that more EHV transmission is needed, especially for access to renewables, there is disagreement as to the best way to achieve it. Some argue that more transmission will facilitate more coal-fired generation. AEP maintains that a national RPS will eliminate that possibility.
AEP position
As the nation’s transmission leader, AEP is a strong proponent of a robust extra-high voltage (EHV) transmission grid. EHV transmission facilitates many societal agendas, including energy efficiency, access to renewables, interstate commerce and national security. We believe cost recovery for needed transmission should be included in all federal clean energy legislation mandating a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
NREL Projection of Transmission Needed to Facilitate 20% Wind by 2020
What the stakes are
Because of the location of renewables vs. the location of population centers, renewable generation often needs to be built where there is little to no existing transmission. And because siting a transmission facility takes much longer than siting a wind turbine (at best, 5 years vs. 2 years), the problem continues to grow.
