Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) is pleased to announce two new reports that review recent regional transmission plans and selected transmission projects.
The first report reviews the most recent regional transmission plans (those issued in 2015 and through about mid-year 2016) and current regional transmission planning processes.
The first Quadrennial Energy Review recommends that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conduct a national review of transmission plans and assess the barriers and incentives to their implementation. DOE tasked LBNL to prepare two technical reports to support aspects of the agency’s response to this recommendation.
The first report reviews regional transmission plans and regional transmission planning processes that have been directed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order Nos. 890 and 1000. We focus on the most recent regional transmission plans (those issued in 2015 and through approximately mid-year 2016) and current regional transmission planning processes.
The second report reviews recent transmission projects that provide examples of factors affecting project implementation that arise outside of transmission planning. We organize these factors under four broad headings:
- Issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity by state authorities;
- Routing, siting, and permitting of a transmission line, often involving preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement by a federal or state agency;
- Public and stakeholder sentiment and involvement, especially in the form of organized action, which surrounds and directly impacts both of the first two factors; and
- Economic or commercial factors that affect the need for and/or financial viability of projects, which underlies and is affected by all three of the preceding factors.
Report authors express appreciation for the funding support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Offices of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and Energy Policy and Systems Analysis.
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