Major Court Ruling Clears the Way to Let Renewables Into the Grid

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/major-court-ruling-clears-way-let-renewables-grid-1408550263

Building wind farms and huge solar arrays means nothing if they cannot transmit that energy to homes and businesses, and a recent court ruling just made connecting to the grid a lot easier.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, commonly known as FERC, doesn’t often draw headlines for fulfilling its duty of regulating electricity, gas, and oil transmission. However a Friday ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirming a 2011 FERC order is poised to usher in major changes in the way utilities and regulators consider transmission and to open pathways for more renewables to enter the grid.

FERC Order 1000, as the order is known, makes a number of changes to how electricity transmission will be considered in the future. It requires grid investments that affect multiple states and utility jurisdictions to be coordinated — rather than the former system which allowed individual state regulators and utilities to opt in or out of regional efforts. It provides guidance on how to pay for expensive transmission projects and makes the process more flexible to help facilitate growth, especially for renewable efforts. It also eliminates utilities’ first right of refusal, which allowed incumbent utilities to decide first it they wanted to build transmission projects. This will help level the playing field for independent transmission projects.

[elleng]

1. Excellent.

[Demeter]

2. and about time

I was one of the millions victimized by the Great Grid Failure otherwise known as:

Northeast blackout of 2003 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003

[elleng]

3. Absolutely about time,

and about time 'regulation' is recognized as not only legitimate but necessary, for functioning of many sectors.

[2naSalit]

4. Yup

way past overdue it's about time.