A new study from the Michigan Energy Office and Public Service Commission—ordered by Governor Rick Snyder—shows the state can triple its renewable portfolio standard, achieving 30% renewables in the state’s portfolio by 2035. Michigan’s two key utilities – DTE Energy and Consumers Energy– are on track to meet the current 10% renewable target next year.
It’s All Connected – Regional Transmission Planning in the Southeast
More than two weeks have passed since Hurricane Sandy brought the Eastern Seaboard to a standstill. Although life is slowly returning to normal, Sandy joins a long series of painful reminders of how dependent 21st century America is on reliable electricity: it powers nearly every facet of our lives. The potential silver lining in the wake of Sandy’s devastation is the influx of interest in our outdated and inadequate transmission grid, highlighting long ignored issues from the benefits of buried transmission lines to the importance of an integrated, redundant, resilient grid – built to withstand even Sandy’s fury.
Larry Bell Misleads Readers in Forbes
Columnist Larry Bell recently published a misleading critique of the state of the American renewable energy industry in his article “Too-Green-To-Fail Energy Policies Fail Achievement Tests.” Mr. Bell made a slew of errors (including misidentifying FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff as “Jon Wellington,”), many of which were pointed out by Michael Goggin in his article, “Fact
Update from Capitol Hill: Draft Transmission Bill from Rep. Sensenbrenner
Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin) recently released a discussion draft of a bill to amend the Federal Power Act to require regional transmission plans. A brief summary of the highlights follows. FERC, in consultation with electric reliability organizations, transmission operators, transmission owners and states, must designate one or more regions in both the