Climate 411

An obvious solution for building electric transmission faster: Use railroads and highways

The U.S. needs to build a lot more high-voltage electric transmission lines. Our current system is disconnected in all of the wrong places, leaving bountiful renewable resources stranded, individual regions isolated, and disadvantaged communities with unreliable power and exorbitant costs. Even where we do have connections, many of the lines are outdated and can’t accommodate all of the energy that is being produced.

To ensure that our grid is resilient to severe storms and heat, capable of meeting our climate goals, and can deliver energy at reasonable cost, we will need to build or upgrade around 75,000 miles of transmission lines – the equivalent of building 30 transmission lines connecting Los Angeles to New York City.

Historically, building transmission lines over long distances has been an arduous and time-consuming process. Many lines have taken decades to reach completion, while others don’t even make it to the construction phase. Since transmission lines typically pass through many separate state and local governments, transmission developers are required to apply for a permit with each of the individual states, and potentially the individual municipality that it crosses. Each of these state and local processes can take years, leading to potentially cascading timelines, particularly for longer distance projects. And of course, any of these permitting bodies could simply deny the project from being sited in their state or local jurisdiction, setting off further actions and delays that a transmission developer will need to respond to, if they don’t simply throw in the towel.

But there is a small exception to this sluggish process: a transmission line that is being built within a specific Department of Energy (DOE) designated “corridor” and that did not receive a construction permit from a state or local agency within one year of filing their application may seek a federal permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to move forward with their project.

In May, DOE proposed 10 National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs, pronounced Nit-Sees). These NIETCs represent areas where DOE has found that new interstate transmission could provide outsized benefits to consumers affected by high electricity costs and reliability concerns. Transmission lines built in these corridors will become eligible for additional financial support under the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These proposed designations represent a necessary step forward in the process of getting more transmission lines in the ground. However, whether these corridors can deliver on their promise of removing barriers to building new transmission projects depends on where the boundaries are drawn, and whether they include the range of reasonable alternative routes that a developer may need to consider.

An analysis commissioned by EDF found that the boundaries of the corridors were drawn far too narrow, unnecessarily excluding existing infrastructure corridors and their rights-of-way — such as highway and railway routes — that can create more pathways for delivering reliable and affordable power.

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Five years into New York’s climate law, the state needs a bold cap-and-invest program to bring emissions goals into reach

This blog was co-authored by Lulu August, State Climate Policy Intern

This month marks five years since New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) was signed into law. At the time of its enactment in 2019, the groundbreaking climate law set New York apart as a national and global climate leader.

Indeed, action in line with the CLCPA’s emissions and environmental justice requirements would be transformative — promising a safer future, cleaner air and good-paying jobs in the growing clean energy economy for New Yorkers today and for future generations.

Five years in, however, New York does not yet have the rules in place to deliver on the climate law and all the promise it holds for New Yorkers.

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Also posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News, Policy / Authors: / Comments are closed

North Carolina Carbon Plan: Why Duke’s gas bet is a risk to ratepayers and how offshore wind can carry the load

On May 28, the Environmental Defense Fund, along with several other parties, filed expert testimony with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) in North Carolina’s Carbon Plan proceeding. The outcome of these regulatory proceedings, which include hearings over the summer and a Commission order by end of year, will shape over $100 billion in long-term investments proposed by Duke Energy, and ultimately largely paid for by North Carolina electricity customers. This is a huge decision point for the state’s energy future, as I described in a recent op-ed published by NC Newsline.

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Also posted in Cities and states, Economics, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Policy / Comments are closed

Building a better grid: The latest steps to deliver reliable, affordable and clean power

Many of us don’t realize how much of our livelihoods depend on a reliable electricity grid, until we lose power in a blackout or outage.

For many communities across the country, that is becoming a more common occurrence as we experience more frequent and severe storms and heat waves worsened by climate change. Just last week, nearly 200,000 people across several midwestern and southern states lost power after a blitz of tornadoes and thunderstorms.

This extreme weather threat is amplified by outdated grid infrastructure and increasing electricity demand.

One essential solution to meeting these challenges – and driving meaningful progress toward a clean energy future – is building a more modern, reliable and clean grid. This is exactly what the Biden administration and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are doing with a suite of grid-strengthening actions over the last month.

Here’s what you should know about these latest actions and why they matter:

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Charting the path to equity: unveiling new Just Transition and Safeguards Framework

Reskilling and training workers for a clean energy future. Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

By Mandy Rambharos, Vice President, Global Climate Cooperation  

As the world moves towards greener, low-carbon futures, it’s imperative that no one is left behind – including those working in fossil fuel industries and the communities they support. 

A new report from Environmental Defense Fund, ‘Just Transition and Safeguards Framework offers a roadmap for countries and energy companies alike to successfully navigate the complexities of transitioning to clean energy while ensuring fairness and equity at every step of the way. 

Guidance from this framework outlines how to empower local stakeholders – from frontline communities to Indigenous Peoples – ensuring everyone has a seat at the table and a fair share in the benefits of this monumental shift. 

The concept of a ‘just transition’ isn’t new by any means. It was first developed by North American trade unions and environmental justice advocates and has since become a global call to action. As this big idea – which is simultaneously inspiring, ambiguous, and vast in scope – spreads across the world, it must adapt to local challenges, economic realities, and social norms.  

While a just transition will (and should) look different from West Virginia to South Africa, EDF’s framework aims to help decision-makers understand the principles that should be core to every just transition plan – removing the ambiguity and providing clear waypoints toward true climate justice.  

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Also posted in Jobs, Just Transition / Comments are closed

Governor Inslee moves Washington state one step closer to linking carbon market with California and Quebec

Today, the state of Washington took a big step toward linking its cap-and-invest program with the carbon markets in California and Quebec, a move that could boost climate action and create a more stable, more predictable market for all. Governor Inslee signed E2SB 6058 into law, which will further align Washington’s program with the joint California-Quebec program (known as the Western Climate Initiative) and facilitate a smoother linkage process.

This latest development builds on the momentum of last week’s joint statement from the three jurisdictions, in which they expressed their shared interest in the potential creation of a larger, linked market among them. While Governor Inslee and Washington policymakers are tackling climate change head-on and trying to strengthen the state’s carbon market, a wealthy hedge fund executive is trying to bring climate progress to a screeching halt through a ballot initiative that would end the program altogether. The contrast between the two outcomes for Washington’s cap-and-invest program could not be starker.

Here’s what you need to know about the linkage bill and what’s at stake with Washington’s program.

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