20 Jul
The Energy Future Coalition’s National Clean Energy Transmission Initiative (NCETI), along with the Renewable Northwest Project, Climate Solutions, and the Northwest Energy Coalition, hosted a conference last Wednesday in Portland, Oregon focused on the issues of, and potential solutions to, the development of clean energy transmission within the United States. The conference highlighted the importance of modernizing the nation’s electricity grid, an issue vital to the success of a transition to renewable energy generation and a clean energy economy within the United States.
Currently, the United States’ electricity grid uses outdated technology and is unable to handle the addition of renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, and geothermal. In order to accommodate the addition of these new power resources, major investments must be put into improving the grid as well as expanding it to areas of the country that have high potential for renewable energy generation.
Distinguished speakers such as Mike Jacobs from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Dave Olsen with the Western Grid Group, John Audley from the Renewable Northwest Project, Brian Silverstein of the Bonneville Power Administration, and Patrick Reiten of Pacific Power spoke on a range of transmission issues, from the benefits of an updated grid system to the potential problems surrounding the planning, siting, and cost allocation of an improved grid. Also in attendance were representatives from the utilities sector, environmental advocacy organizations, labor unions, as well as local and national businesses.
You can view speakers’ presentations by clicking below:
Dave Olsen – “More Effective Planning”
Harvard Spigal – “Northwest Renewable Resources”
John Audley – “Cascade Crossing Transmission Project: Powering Oregon’s Future”
Lisa Schwartz – “Western Renewable Energy Zones Project”
Mike Jacobs – “Grid is to Renewable Energy as Roads are to Hybrid Cars”
Pat Reiten – “Expanding and Modernizing the Grid”
Rachel Shimshak – “Renewable Energy Projects in the Northwest”
Steve Weiss – “Establishing the Need for Transmission: Inclusive, Transparent, and Analytically Robust Planning at a Large Scale”
