New federal regulations could ultimately help electric grid operators in New England incorporate additional energy sources into the region's power supply network.
New England's electric grid is largely interconnected among the region's six member states. While the setup of its power supply network is beneficial in many ways, it is also suffering under the weight of years of neglected maintenance and investment. New federal rules aimed at reducing the amount of time it takes utilities and power providers to construct new transmission and distribution lines could help modernize New England's electric grid, experts say.
The Associated Press reports that the newly approved regulations could significantly impact electric grid performance in New England. While member states have increased their investment into renewable energy systems, backers of such projects have had to overcome substantial challenges in their quest to connect the alternative energy systems to the electric grid.
However, the federal rules could help renewable energy project developers circumvent many of the obstacles that restricted their access to the region's power supply network. Older federal rules mandated that new transmission projects needed to improve electric grid reliability. The latest regulations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), on the other hand, require officials to consider whether proposed projects would help states meet policy goals.
Many states have enacted legislation mandating that utilities derive a specific amount of their power-generating portfolio from alternative and renewable energy. In California, for example, the state passed a law last year requiring that publicly owned utilities generate at least 33 percent of their energy from clean sources by 2020.
FERC's latest transmission and distribution line decision will help ensure renewable energy and other systems are connected to the electric grid, experts say. Many New England states have set ambitious clean energy goals, and they expect the new federal regulations to help them in meeting them.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, among other New England states, have enacted such clean energy mandates, according to the AP. In an effort to spur modernization projects, officials from the region are meeting to discuss how they can work together to devise new transmission and distribution channels that will enable them to achieve their renewable energy goals.
AOL Energy News reports that lawmakers and public policy experts attending the strategic meeting in Boston, the New England Clean Energy Transmission Summit, asserted that the construction of new transmission and distribution lines in the region would help improve electric grid performance. What's more, experts said it would also enable utilities to implement smart grid technologies and augment demand response resources, among other results.
"With the right guidelines from FERC, regions are able to better coordinate their transmission plans and build a grid that links … businesses and families to cleaner, lower cost power," Energy Future Coalition managing director John Jimison said.
Officials are hoping to take advantage of the region's high winds as they seek to increase electric grid performance. A report issued by the New England Independent System Operator (ISO New England) in 2010 suggested that wind turbine technology could supply approximately one-fourth of the region's total energy needs by the end of the decade.
The best winds in New England, according to the report, are located in isolated areas that have thus far prevented developers from moving forward with planned projects. The new federal regulations will enable authorities to expedite the approval of such projects, as officials will have enhanced power over the construction of transmission and distribution channels that will connect such systems to the electric grid.
Related Articles
- FERC to study environmental rules’ effects on U.S. electric grid reliability
- Experts: Increasing demand response systems to bolster electric grid reliability
- PJM Interconnection first electric grid operator to comply with demand response compensation rules
- FERC approves Nevada utility’s request to join California’s electric grid
- New transformers to improve electric grid reliability, performance on Michigan-Ontario border