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GRID: The Biden administration is expected to unveil a grid expansion plan this spring, but experts say the president would need at least a second term to fully roll out the transmission buildout. (E&E News)
ALSO: U.S. lawmakers introduce legislation that would require federal energy regulators to establish incentives for transmission owners to add grid-enhancing technologies to existing power lines. (Utility Dive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration plans to unveil a clean car rule next week that would require carmakers to cut average vehicles emissions 52% by 2032, likely spurring electric vehicle production. (Politico)
OFFSHORE WIND:
HYDROGEN: The U.S. Energy Department announces that it will funnel $750 million in bipartisan infrastructure funding to electrolyzer research and development projects, with a goal of spurring clean hydrogen. (E&E News)
COAL: Fourteen coal plants closed in the U.S. last year, but power generators are largely looking to natural gas to replace that capacity. (Inside Climate News)
CLIMATE:
UTILITIES: The role of a decayed power pole in sparking this month’s historic Texas wildfires drives discussion about the state’s general lack of regulations for utilities related to wildfire mitigation. (NPR, Houston Chronicle)
SOLAR:
PIPELINES: A four-week trial ends in North Dakota in a case to determine whether the state or federal government should pay $38 million in policing costs for Dakota Access pipeline protests, though a judgment isn’t expected for weeks. (North Dakota Monitor)
FOSSIL FUELS: A development group finishes dismantling a former oil refinery in south Philadelphia, once the East Coast’s largest such facility, and begins construction on an industrial space and life sciences lab. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
EFFICIENCY: A Virginia company offers a free online calculator to help homeowners navigate federal tax credits and point-of-sale rebates for efficient appliances. (Energy News Network)
BIOMASS: Environmental groups are concerned that the federal Inflation Reduction Act could create tax incentives for wood-to-energy biomass projects and potentially worsen climate emissions. (Inside Climate News)
GRID: An analysis finds Texas has experienced 263 power outages since 2019, the most of any state in the country, indicating its power grid is struggling under demand and extreme weather. (Houston Chronicle)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
STORAGE: Texas residents are worried about a developer’s plans to build a battery storage facility near a neighborhood and elementary school. (KTRK)
OIL & GAS:
COAL:
CLIMATE:
UTILITIES: Austin, Texas’ municipal utility pauses the process of reworking its resource, generation and climate plan while the mayor pushes to divest from a coal-fired power plant and environmentalists call for more renewables. (Austin Monitor)
GEOTHERMAL: A student team from the University of Oklahoma wins a competition for its design of geothermal wells to heat a 40,000-square-foot greenhouse operated by the Osage Nation. (KWTV/KSBI)
MINING: A Virginia company moves to reopen critical minerals mining and production facilities in the state, after having previously discontinued operations there in 2015. (Virginia Mercury)
COMMENTARY:
ELECTRIFICATION: The Biden administration awards a northwest Alaska borough $50 million to install electric heat pumps in every home and to build solar installations to power them. (Northern Journal)
OIL & GAS:
MINING:
POLLUTION: Dozens of oil and gas industry and environmental group lobbyists work to influence Colorado lawmakers as they consider legislation aimed at reducing ground-level ozone pollution. (CPR)
SOLAR:
UTILITIES:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California says it has surpassed 100,000 public or shared private electric vehicle chargers throughout the state. (news release)
TRANSPORTATION: The Biden administration pours funding into a proposed high-speed passenger rail line linking Las Vegas and Los Angeles in hopes it will spark a national rail revolution. (Los Angeles Times)
CLIMATE:
BIOFUELS: The Biden administration awards $30 million to a cluster of California projects aimed at converting forest cuttings into biofuels. (Bioenergy Insight)
The Midwest’s regional transmission grid operator this week announced another multi-billion dollar phase of transmission line projects as part of a four-part push to improve reliability and reduce curtailments.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) unveiled plans Monday for what’s known as its “Tranche 2” portfolio, which includes plans for several 765 kilovolt transmission “highways” spanning sections of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota and Missouri.
Many of the new lines would connect to projects being built as part of the $10.4 billion Tranche 1 portfolio, which MISO approved last year. Tranche 2 is projected to cost even more, at between $17 billion and $23 billion. A third batch of projects will focus on the grid operator’s southern territory, and the fourth will address north-south connections.
In its presentation to stakeholders, MISO officials said the investment will help manage challenges in three regions. In MISO West, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 20% of its facilities are overloaded and annual curtailments exceed 15%.
In its Central region, composed of parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, facilities are 10% overloaded, and there’s a need for transmission to move power from west to east.
MISO’s East Region, defined as Michigan’s lower peninsula, suffers annual curtailment of over 15% and 10% of facilities are overloaded. MISO said in a presentation that transmission would help mitigate “import and export power swings between day and night.”
Beth Soholt, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Grid Alliance, said the Tranche 2 plan is “bold” and “the direction we need to go.” The question is: does it go far enough?
The regional grid is expected to see significant growth from industries, electrification, data centers and other sources, Soholt said.
“If load growth ramps up faster than the grid can handle, then we’re behind the eight ball again,” she said. “Now is the time to ask: Have we right-sized this portfolio?”
Mike Schowalter, senior manager of wholesale electric grid transition for Fresh Energy, said he was surprised by the lack of a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) line.
“If we’re looking at the long-term, we’re going to need the attributes that HVDC brings,” Schowalter said.
The Energy News Network is an independent journalism program of Fresh Energy.
A 765 kV transmission line needs taller towers and a much wider corridor than HVDC or other alternatives, Schowalter said.
“I’m a little concerned about some of the siting issues that the different states will have to deal with,” he said, noting that the map shows a 765 kV Minnesota River crossing.
Utilities have told Schowalter that the plan misses future pockets of generation that may need additional transmission. He said the reason may be because the draft report centers on reliability, not interconnection constraints.
The plan also does not venture much into North Dakota, which has plenty of wind generation, Schowalter said. The draft plan “will help with some congestion, but will it help enough?” he said. “Probably not. In terms of relative to what we need, we need a lot more than this.”
Some utilities also think deploying HVDC lines would better solve grid instability issues, especially between wind-rich Southwest Minnesota and the more populated regions to the east, Soholt said. HVDC transmits electricity more efficiently than alternate current lines, which have higher rates of power loss.
Utilities have often had to curtail wind power from southwest Minnesota because of transmission capacity issues. Clean energy advocates and others will be closely listening to the business case MISO will make later for the choice of the transmission locations and the size of the lines, she said.
Soholt said comments are being taken now on the plan and some stakeholders will offer modifications and alternatives. Some clean energy developers and members of the Clean Grid Alliance plan to suggest alternatives. Some organizations are expected to argue that MISO does not need this much transmission and others will tender a different vision, she said.
So far, MISO has released only a rough map of where the lines would run, without much detail. A stakeholder process will refine precisely where the lines will operate, Soholt said.
Stakeholder input and alternatives to the Tranche 2 plan will be accepted through April 5. MISO will make a final decision later this year.
GRID: Some observers question if New York will have enough power on its grid to support the expansion of a semiconductor manufacturer’s capacity, a development that just received significant federal funding. (Times Union)
ALSO: An advanced energy trade group issues a report card giving low marks to PJM Interconnection and ISO New England for their overall interconnection processes, including regional transmission planning. (Utility Dive)
OFFSHORE WIND:
BUILDINGS:
GAS: Although the investigation is still ongoing, federal investigators have released dozens of documents and photos related to a gas explosion at a West Reading, Pennsylvania chocolate factory last March. (Daily Times)
PIPELINES: Some residents of Burrillville, Rhode Island, want state officials to extend a public comment period and hold a hearing as they work to get the operating air permit renewal rejected for Enbridge’s Algonquin pipeline. (ecoRI)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
FLOODS: The financial toll of the floods that swept through some central Massachusetts towns last September is still hitting residents and municipal officials, with federal officials rejecting a request for disaster relief. (Boston Globe)
SOLAR: A central Pennsylvania church installs a $75,000 solar array that completely offsets its energy needs, a project the pastor says is necessary to address “the biggest problem of our age.” (WFMZ)
GRID: A new ranking of grid operators says California and Texas have the best interconnection processes, with PJM Interconnection and ISO New England ranking last. (Utility Dive)
ALSO: Environmental groups say a proposal from grid operator Southwest Power Pool unfairly values renewable energy and storage compared to gas, coal and nuclear power. (E&E News, subscription)
OIL & GAS:
CLIMATE:
UTILITIES: The federal government considers suing PacifiCorp in an effort to recover nearly $1 billion in costs related to 2020 wildfires in southern Oregon and northern California. (Associated Press)
WIND: U.S. lawmakers from California urge the Biden administration to extend a proposed marine sanctuary off the state’s central coast even though it could hamper offshore wind development. (Tribune)
EFFICIENCY: A new weatherization jobs resource hub in Wisconsin is part of advocates’ effort to avoid the boom-and-bust cycle that followed previous increases in federal energy efficiency funding. (Energy News Network)
CLEAN ENERGY:
POLITICS: A conservative group’s blueprint for a Republican presidency aims to severely weaken the EPA and put more authority in the hands of political appointees rather than scientists. (E&E News)
A coalition of labor and environmental groups is putting its support behind perennial Minnesota legislation meant to lift a barrier to building power lines in the rights-of-way of federal highways in the state.
NextGen Highways is a national collaboration that promotes co-location of utility infrastructure in existing highway corridors as a way to accelerate expansion of the electric grid.
The concept has widespread public support, according to the group’s polling, but it also faces various legal, financial, and technical obstacles across the country.
“What we’re trying to do in Minnesota — and in states across the country — is to identify barriers and work with our coalition partners to develop strategies to overcome those barriers,” said Randy Satterfield, executive director of NextGen Highways.
One example in Minnesota is a state law requiring the Minnesota Department of Transportation to pay utilities if they are forced to move any assets, such as poles or towers, in federal highway rights-of-way. A pair of bills (House Bill 3900, Senate Bill 3949) would shift those costs to utilities instead, making it consistent with existing rules for state highway corridors.
Without that change, the state won’t allow transmission projects to be built in its portion of federal highway rights-of-way. State transportation officials have proposed such legislation multiple times since 2012, but the bills have never succeeded amid opposition from utilities.
Many transmission projects already follow highway corridors, Satterfield said. They include several announced last year by MISO, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Three of those projects cover portions of Minnesota and follow highways for parts of their routes.
Not all transmission lines that share routes with highways are located within the public right-of-way. Some are built on adjacent private property instead, which still requires negotiations with hundreds of individual owners. When developers have the option of placing towers or burying lines within the public right-of-way, it can significantly streamline a project.
With clean energy’s escalating growth trajectory, more solar and wind developers will request permission to build projects and power lines in rural communities, Satterfield predicted.
“I think we owe it to (communities) to at least consider utilizing existing linear infrastructure, like highways and interstates, for the transmission infrastructure,” he said.
Still, transmission developers wanting to take these routes often run into obstacles. Many state departments of transportation still recall a federal restriction, since rescinded, that did not allow transmission in federal highway rights-of-way, he said. Other states have no culture of allowing highway rights-of-way to co-locate with transmission.
NextGen Highways formed to advocate for transmission in highway corridors and to encourage states to remove any barriers to that goal. Minnesota is the first state where it has launched a state coalition to advance the concept.
“Transmission congestion is the biggest hurdle that we have to overcome to reach our 100% energy goals and to get more renewables and other forms of energy on the grid,” said George Damian, government affairs director for Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, a nonprofit that is part of the coalition. “This is a kind of a low-hanging fruit. These rights-of-way owned by the state can be utilized for transmission.”
Utilities, lawmakers and stakeholders continue to discuss the legislation. Theo Keith, Xcel Energy’s spokesperson, said the utility has been “encouraged by the early conversations we’ve had with lawmakers and other stakeholders.” Xcel has proposed hundreds of miles of transmission lines in road corridors and often shares easements with the transportation department, he said.
Keith cited the CapX2020 project as an example of Xcel and other utilities building a major transmission corridor adjacent to the Interstate 94 right-of-way.
“Building new transmission lines is critical to meeting our clean energy goals and those of the states in which we operate, including Minnesota’s 2040 benchmark,” he said.
Minnesota can look to its neighbor in Wisconsin for an example of how highway corridors could be used for transmission. That state passed a law 20 years ago to make federal and state highway rights-of-way a priority for siting transmission. Satterfield, who once worked for a transmission company in Wisconsin, said the state’s utilities built more than 200 miles of transmission projects on federal highways.
Wisconsin did not ask utilities to move poles or other assets on any of the projects, he said. Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation coordinates and plans projects with utilities to avoid potential problems, such as highway lane expansion that could encroach on transmission lines.
In addition to changing the Minnesota statute on utility colocation on federal roads, the NexGen Highway Coalition wants the Legislature to consider a siting priorities law. The law requires utilities to consider existing transportation corridors, such as highways and railways, before opting for greenfield development.
Minnesota Department of Transportation Strategic Partnerships Director Jessica Oh said the agency had put forth five to six legislative proposals since 2012 to repeal the language in the statute regarding utility infrastructure near federal highways and will support continued efforts. Utilities opposed the measure because of the additional expense they might incur in projects, she said.
A change to the state law was also suggested in a report to the legislature based on permitting reform discussions held by the Public Utilities Commission, she said.
In studying Wisconsin’s experience, the department learned the importance of early coordination with clean energy developers and utilities “is key to the success of the whole process.” Minnesota transportation staff have conducted early planning sessions involving aerial encroachments on state highways with utility partners.
Oh said the department’s “highest concern” around utility infrastructure has always been safety. Should the legislation pass, the transportation department will continue to work closely with utilities, especially since power lines will become instrumental in moving electric vehicles on highways.
Oh added Minnesota is among 11 states selected by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Transportation Research Board’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program for a “moonshots” program for state departments of transportation. Oh leads the initiative in Minnesota to co-locate more transmission and broadband in highway corridors.
“We have a stake in this because of the electrification of transportation,” Oh said. “I tend to think our fates are intertwined in energy and transportation.”
Great Plains Institute convenes NextGen Highways, which partners with the Center for Rural Affairs, Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, Conservative Energy Forum, Fresh Energy, Laborers’ International Union of North America-Minnesota and North Dakota, Mechanical Contractors Association, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the National Audubon Society.
Fresh Energy publishes Energy News Network.
STORAGE: Georgia Power prepares to begin operation of a 65 MW battery storage system in Georgia, the first in a series of battery installations planned to eventually total 915 MW. (Macon Telegraph)
NUCLEAR: A Southeast trade association says the nuclear industry’s $9.8 billion footprint in Tennessee means the state will lead a pending “nuclear renaissance” in the region as utilities consider building a wave of new plants. (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
TRANSITION:
SOLAR:
WIND: Wind energy company Enel considers whether to appeal, negotiate with tribes or remove its 48-turbine wind farm in Oklahoma after a judge found the company failed to secure mineral rights from the Osage Nation. (Engineering News-Record)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Kentucky breaks ground on the first of 40 electric vehicle charging stations planned for the state’s interstates and highways. (Spectrum News, WHAS)
EMISSIONS: An analysis finds oil and gas producers would have owed as much as $1.1 billion, largely from leaky well and pipeline infrastructure, had a new federal methane fee been in place for a one-year period ending in March 2023. (Grist)
UTILITIES: Duke Energy revises its long-term plan in North Carolina to reflect an “unprecedented” increase in power demand by adding more solar and offshore wind, but also new natural gas-fired power plants and experiments in nuclear power. (Wilmington StarNews)
OIL & GAS: West Virginia lawmakers complain about miscalculations that cost eight counties a total of $22.9 million as they advance legislation to make permanent a relatively new method for assessing tax valuations for oil and gas properties. (WV Metro News)
RENEWABLES: A Spanish company secures $200 million in financing to build out 1.9 GW of solar, storage and wind facilities on Texas’ standalone power grid. (PV Tech)
COAL: A creditor of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies joins a legal dispute between those companies and a Virginia bank over $226.2 million plus interest in debt payments. (Cardinal News)
COMMENTARY: An analyst at a conservative think tank complains that net-metering subsidizes homeowners with rooftop solar at the expense of other utility customers. (Carolina Journal)
HYDROPOWER: Environmentalists and legislators from Pennsylvania’s York and Lancaster counties come together to oppose the $2.3 billion Cuffs Run hydroelectric project, citing economic, ecological and cultural concerns. (York Dispatch, WITF)
POLICY:
FINANCE:
SOLAR:
EMISSIONS: Residents of Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley wait to see how much of a difference the latest legal settlement with the highly air-polluting Clairton Coke Works will make in their lives. (Public Source)
OFFSHORE WIND:
TRANSIT:
FLOODING:
STORAGE: Nearly a quarter of the world’s battery storage systems have defects related to fire detection and suppression, an advisory firm estimates. (Utility Dive)
OFFSHORE WIND:
OIL & GAS:
PIPELINES: The FBI began tracking Native American opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline as early as 2012 as part of a sweeping law enforcement strategy to counter civil disobedience aimed at fossil fuels. (Grist)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Consultants trace Republican opposition to electric vehicles back to the early 2010s, when the federal government first offered EV companies loans to get off the ground. (E&E News)
CLIMATE:
SOLAR: A company encourages Black farmers in the Southeast to lease some of their property for solar projects to add a new source of income. (Civil Eats)
CLEAN ENERGY:
GEOTHERMAL: The Biden administration awards $60 million to three enhanced geothermal energy pilot projects in California, Utah and Oregon. (The Hill)
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