Government Market News’ Post

The Connect the Grid Act, championed by Congressman Greg Casar and 16 co-sponsors, marks a significant step towards revolutionizing Texas's energy infrastructure. This legislation aims to enhance the state's energy grid resilience and reliability by mandating the interconnection of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) with neighboring power grids. Such a move is expected to mitigate risks of power outages by enabling energy imports or exports based on demand. A key provision of the Act is bringing ERCOT under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), aligning it with national regulatory standards. This could improve grid efficiency and facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources. Additionally, the Act includes a directive to explore the benefits of connecting Texas's power grid with Mexico, highlighting the potential for cross-border energy collaboration. This legislative effort aims to improve energy security, promote sustainability, and support economic growth by fostering greater grid interconnectivity and regulatory coherence. The Connect the Grid Act represents a forward-thinking approach to modernizing Texas's energy infrastructure, focusing on resilience, sustainability, and the future of energy in the state.

The Biden Administration and the Department of Energy (DoE) recently declared the allocation of billions of dollars in funding aimed at enhancing the resilience of the North American power grid. Learn more about the impact this will have in this article from T&D World! https://bit.ly/3wzB5MV

Roxana Caliminte made a brilliant intervention in the panel moderated by Lindsay McQuade at #WindEurope24 Gas pipelines, underground reservoirs and LNG terminals are essential infrastructure that the power system relies on. While we want to phase out fossil fuels, including fossil natural gas, we will need the base infrastructure to carry different low carbon energy vectors (hydrogen, bio methane, etc) Catharina Sikow presented the position of the European Commission in accelerating the interconnection plans for pan-European grids. New measures (not new legislation!!) in the grid action plan shall tackle the bottleneck in grid investments, enabling #anticipatoryinvestments which is very welcomed initiative from customers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) with very high growth rates in our demand. We need grids to anticipate our growth and invest in time, and allow us to help. Stefan Kapferer from 50Hertz Transmission GmbH praised the work on accelerating permitting for new power lines. The key bottleneck remains for him on the supply chain for long lead grid equipment. Another big topic raised by Stefan Kapferer, also raised by other TSO in Spain, is the lack of growth in the demand of power to match the growth of generation capacity. He advocates for new ways of modeling and balancing supply/demand signals to enable efficient grid development. Lindsay McQuade brought the perspective of the demand coming from new customers, such as Data Centers and the need to inform and partner to ensure our growth projections are taken into account in grid planning.

We have more work to do as we usher in the future of energy, but there are significant strides being made through grid modernization initiatives at the state level. Read more about how states are working to build the grid of the future in my latest blog published in collaboration with the GridWise Alliance.

NEW: Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to $200 million for transmission projects to connect isolated microgrids to existing infrastructure corridors in Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories of the United States. Funded through the Grid Deployment Office's Transmission Facilitation Program, projects developed under this RFP will aim to enhance grid reliability and resilience and expand access to clean, diverse, and more affordable energy to lower electricity costs in these communities. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e9UNWPQP

In an inspiring move for the U.S. energy sector, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Kathy Castor have introduced a groundbreaking bill that promises a brighter, more efficient future for electricity grids nationwide. This legislation could significantly speed up the integration of new power and storage resources to the grid, addressing a critical bottleneck in energy infrastructure. 🌞 The heartening news comes in response to the mounting backlog of interconnection requests, which has seen a 27% increase in a single year. By compelling the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to streamline regulations within 18 months, the bill lays the groundwork for more rapid and cost-effective grid access, echoing the urgent demand for reliable and affordable energy. Offering a ray of hope in enhancing grid reliability, the bill stands out by pushing for tailored modeling assumptions aligning with actual operating abilities of resources like solar and storage. This vital change heralds a potential surge in project approvals and a giant leap toward meeting surging energy demands. Expert voices across the energy landscape celebrate this legislative move, emphasising its potential to transform power plant development. From distributed energy to a potential nuclear renaissance, this bill may pave the way for a revolutionised, resilient energy grid. With strong bipartisan support and 20 endorsing organizations, it's an exciting time that paints a promising future for America's energy solutions, keeping reliability and cost-effectiveness at the forefront. As we stand on the cusp of a new energy epoch, have you considered how such reforms could transform the sustainability and efficiency of your industry? How might this change the landscape for renewables in your community? Let's discuus in the comments below. #EnergyFuture #GridReliability #RenewableEnergy

When it comes to the transmission we need to get more carbon-free energy on the grid, the U.S. Department of Energy has been pushing hard for interregional lines and the use of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) that can increase capacity of existing lines. And with the announcement of the second round of Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) grants, DOE is putting $2.2 billion of its money where its proverbial/metaphorical mouth is, funding eight projects -- six with GETs and at least two interregional. Big winners are the North Plains Connector, a new high-voltage, direct current line, running about 415 miles from Montana to North Dakota (see below), which is up for $700 million, and California, which is getting more than $600 million, to upgrade 100 miles of existing lines with grid-enhancing advanced conductors. And, hopefully, these projects won't get bogged down in permitting as DOE has been raising its game and intends to get them through in no more than two years. Rock 'n' roll. RTO Insider LLC U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grid United Click here to read on! https://lnkd.in/eBe3M3VT

The Center for Energy Research and Policy is pushing the ERC to consider increasing the reserve power capacity of the grid in order to mitigate future power outages. READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/gkAeHuBe

Transmission infrastructure takes up to 12x longer to build than load — meaning new energy in Texas won’t matter if we can’t deliver it. Learn more about the challenges of growing energy demand in our latest #FiscalNotes article: https://bit.ly/3MYiXB3

What might be getting in the way of developing the infrastructure needed for U.S. clean energy goals? A new report from Resources for the Future lists siting and permitting delays, grid interconnection issues, and costly transmission development as major hurdles. Can smarter policies and better planning overcome these obstacles and accelerate the transition to clean energy? 💡Read more about this and other views on the #energytransition from Kathari.News Perspectives: https://lnkd.in/eJtg8Ae4