Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Recently certain policy advocates have suggested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should attempt to revitalize the Federal Power Act Section 216 “backstop siting” authority as a means of addressing climate change. Their objective is to facilitate the construction of more long-haul transmission lines from areas with excess renewable generation, so zero-emitting generation can reach more markets.
This post does not comment on that objective. It comments on the backstop siting authority. Specifically, it discusses whether FERC’s backstop siting authority extends only to cases where a State decision has been delayed, or also where approval has been denied. In short, the statute in fact was designed to extend to both delays and denials. I represented a coalition that worked on and advocated for the provision.
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In August, we published our list of the
top 10 utility regulation trends of 2020, so far. With a tumultuous 2020 largely in the rearview mirror, we now look back on the 10 trends that defined the utility regulatory arena this year. It is difficult to overstate the influence COVID has had on virtually every facet of the energy sector – and utilities were no exception. Nor is it possible to ignore the impact that extreme weather events have had on utility planning and operations. On top of that, the outcome of the presidential election promises to shape the federal energy regulatory landscape for years to come. Because of – or perhaps in spite of – these transformational shifts, advanced energy is well-positioned for continued growth in 2021.
By:
Conformity Assessment Program Specialist
The growth in distributed energy resources presents huge opportunities both in front-of-meter and behind-the-meter but the process of interconnection to the grid could still be a lot smoother, Jason Allnutt, Conformity Assessment Program Specialist for the IEEE Standards Association says.
Adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) is surging around the world. DERs are bringing unique benefits to the global energy landscape that central-station power plants and long-distance transmission and distribution alone could not. DERs allow for power to be generated when and where it is most needed, and decentralising power production can contribute to a dramatically more secure and resilient facility for electricity delivery. DERs interconnected with the grid position a utility to better manage peak demand, avoid transmission overloads and keep electricity flowing to its customers.