The recently approved rule by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission aims to facilitate the transmission of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, to the electric grid, which is a crucial component of President Joe Biden’s objective to eliminate carbon emissions completely by 2050. The regulation, which took two years to develop, is designed to modernize the outdated power grid to accommodate rising demand triggered by factors such as massive data center constructions, electric vehicle and building adoption, and artificial intelligence implementation.
However, the grid is facing challenges due to the retirement of coal-fired power plants following intense competition from natural gas and stricter pollution restrictions that have affected other energy sources. Furthermore, frequent power disruptions during extreme weather events, driven by climate change, pose a threat to electric reliability.
The FERC commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of the rule, with Chairman Willie Phillips and Democrat Allison Clements supporting it, while Republican Mark Christie opposed it, claiming it favored solar and wind power operators. Phillips emphasized that the rule is critical since the power grid is currently experiencing a “make-or-break moment,” facing challenges such as retiring traditional resources, shifting economics, and state and federal policies. Additionally, extreme weather events have become standard occurrences, causing the electric grid to regularly exceed its limits.
Christie criticized the rule, arguing that it does not safeguard consumers’ interests and ensures reliable and low-priced power supply. Instead, he claimed that the rule is merely an attempt to implement a sweeping policy agenda that Congress did not authorize, resulting in significant wealth transfers from customers to profit-seeking renewable energy operators.
The regulation updates the FERC’s planning procedure and specifies how costs will be split when transmission passes over state borders and multiple operators of regional power grids. This move may expedite the construction of fresh transmission lines to transport wind, solar, and other renewable energy, increasing the quantity of clean energy fed into the network. Biden has pledged to achieve carbon-free power generation by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, both of which require a considerable expansion of regional transmission capacity and a five-fold rise in interregional transmission lines.
The White House’s climate expert, Ali Zaidi, stated that the FERC guideline supports clean energy delivery’s historic advancement under Biden’s leadership. The regulation “will improve regional transmission planning, break down obstacles to grid construction, and promote the provision of more economical and dependable power,” stated Zaidi.
The new regulation “is as middle-of-the-road as it gets” according to Clements in terms of legality, despite Christie’s objections. O’Neill, the president and CEO of Advanced Energy United, supported the decision, stating that building more multistate transmission lines reduces congestion on America’s electricity superhighways and facilitates clean and affordable electricity distribution. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, commended the FERC’s moves, suggesting that they will contribute significantly to the implementation of the clean-energy incentives outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act, which he characterized as a “huge success.” This regulation, according to Schumer, will provide more low-cost, dependable clean energy to areas that require it the most.
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