Sustainable FERC Project

PJM Interconnection’s inability to get wind, solar, and batteries online will cause utility bills to rise for 65 million customers from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic. Because PJM hasn’t been proactive, solar, wind, and batteries — cleaner and cheaper alternatives to its incumbent generation fleet — can’t hope to be brought online quickly enough to respond to rising capacity prices, Rutigliano said. The projects that are beginning construction in PJM’s region this year first applied for interconnection about five years ago, he said. “If somebody saw those prices and had something shovel-ready and applied right now, they’re not going to be in service until 2028.” https://lnkd.in/e6g9XDgv

💡New report: Coal plants operating uneconomically are driving up costs and pollution while kicking cheap, renewable energy off the grid. The analysis, conducted by HCI grantee Sustainable FERC Project in partnership with Grid Strategies LLC, analyzed uneconomic coal over 2021-2023 in MISO, the Midwest regional grid. Key findings include: 🏭  Consumers paid $1 billion to lose out on 3.8 million megawatt hours (mWh) of wind power. That's enough clean energy to power all residential households in Des Moines for more than three years--displaced by overpriced coal. ⚡ Nearly a quarter of all wind curtailment was driven by money-losing coal plants skewing the markets and cutting the line. If that sounds ridiculous and wasteful, that's because it is. Read more from Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):

Over 90% of the current projects awaiting approval from PJM Interconnection are from renewable sources such as solar and wind. PJM has to be able to get these new power plants connected much, much quicker than they are and they’ve proven unable to keep pace with getting the new plants on in turn to keep up with the retirements. https://lnkd.in/gWMb8UUj

We're having a heatwave in PJM Interconnection - As extreme weather accelerates, PJM needs to fix interconnection and allow new, clean resources to come online. When it comes to adding new electricity sources, the nation’s largest grid operator, which serves 13 states from Illinois to Virginia, is stuck in the mud. Solar, wind and battery projects can’t get connected to the grid, and that poses are severe threat to reliability when extreme heat (or cold) hits. https://lnkd.in/ea3tKpvZ

Four Democratic governors are pressing the largest U.S. electricity market to create a “robust process” for working with states to plan for more zero-carbon power as electricity demand goes up. In their letter to PJM Interconnection — the wholesale power market stretching from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic — governors from Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland said close coordination is essential to accomplishing a “collective vision.” https://lnkd.in/epwFpqRk

The Southeast is facing a spike in electric load growth projections. Utilities such as Tennessee Valley Authority, Georgia Power Company, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy Corporation are proposing a massive gas buildout to meet it—we can do better. #cleanenergy #reliablegrid #transmission https://lnkd.in/esrwf46x

2024 is a big year for planning clean energy future. -- "PJM, the nation’s biggest grid operator, is changing how it plans transmission upgrades needed to ensure reliable service for the 65 million people who live in its footprint." https://lnkd.in/eDMAw6Cc

In 2027, we’ll be looking back and wondering how we managed to waste another three years...One of the main barriers to the clean energy transition is our current transmission system, which simply isn’t ready. As we electrify the economy and bring new sources of clean energy online, power will flow in ways that weren’t anticipated when transmission lines were planned 50 or more years ago. Coordinated, proactive planning is widely seen as the long-term solution to this problem. The basic idea is straightforward: Start with scenarios for the future energy system and use those scenarios to plan cost-effective transmission upgrades. The current planning PJM Interconnection (the grid operator for the mid-Atlantic and part of the Midwest) is obsolete and just not up to the task. #transmission #cleanenergy #renewableenergy https://lnkd.in/gvicT-MV

During 2023, the U.S. became the world’s largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas, commonly known as LNG. But there's some good news too! In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation finally suspended a Trump administration rule that allowed LNG transport by rail without a special permit. In April, the DOE issued a policy statement reaffirming a seven-year deadline for approved LNG projects to begin exports. Lastly, in a move that won’t affect permitting, but will have a major impact on the climate, the Biden administration unveiled rules to crack down on methane from drill sites, gas pipelines, and other oil and gas equipment. That just means there's more work to get on the right track in 2024. https://lnkd.in/gab8zDRw

We're #hiring a new graduate-level Summer 2024 Sustainable FERC Project Intern. If you, or someone you know, are interested in wholesale energy market and/or federal fossil gas policy issues, apply today or share with your network! In this position, you will take ownership of a major challenge or barrier facing the integration of #cleanenergy into wholesale power markets regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.