January 1, 2025

Federal energy regulators on Monday approved a long-awaited rule that would make it easier to deliver renewable energy like wind and solar to the grid, a key part of President Joe Biden’s goal to eliminate economy-wide carbon emissions by 2050. .

The rule, two years in the making, is intended to boost the nation’s aging grid to meet growing demand driven by large data centers, electrification of vehicles and buildings, artificial intelligence and other uses.

The increase in demand comes as coal-fired power plants continue to be retired in the race. natural gasand other energy sources face increasingly stringent federal pollution regulations that experts say could trigger a power reliability crisis.

Electric grids also face more frequent service outages during extreme weather events caused by climate change.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the new rules 2-1, with Chairman Willie Phillips and Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements voting in favor. Republican Mark Christie opposed the rule, calling it a gift to solar and wind operators.

Phillips said the 1,300-page rule, which covers transmission planning and cost allocation, will strengthen the nation’s aging power grid and ensure American homes and businesses remain powered for decades to come.

“This rule cannot come fast enough. We urgently need action to ensure the reliability and affordability of our grid,” he told a packed committee meeting at the agency’s Washington headquarters.

Phillips said the U.S. power grid is “in a critical moment” and is being tested every day, noting that “a domestic manufacturing boom is driving staggering load growth, unprecedented data center construction is fueling the artificial intelligence revolution, and… expanding Electrification of vehicles and buildings”.

At the same time, aging infrastructure, a changing economy and a host of state and federal policies are leading to the retirement of legacy resources, he said. “On top of that, extreme weather events have become the norm, with grids regularly being pushed to the brink of collapse.”

Meanwhile, construction of high-voltage power lines fell to an all-time low in 2022, with “much of it being built as a stopgap rather than building a visionary future grid,” Phillips said.

Many power companies and Republican-led states don’t want to spend money on new transmission lines or upgrading renewable energy sources, putting them on a collision course with Democratic states with ambitious clean energy goals.

Christie, the only Republican on the three-person panel, said the rule “completely fails to protect consumers” and ensure American homes and businesses have access to reliable, low-cost power.

“Instead, this rule is an excuse to enact a sweeping policy agenda that Congress never passed,” he said. The rule could lead to a “massive transfer of wealth from consumers to for-profit special interests,” primarily wind and solar operations Business, he said.

The rule is intended to simplify how transmission lines are laid and how costs are shared among states. It could speed up the construction of new transmission lines for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources and add vast amounts of clean energy to the grid. Biden has set a goal of achieving a carbon-free power industry by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions for the entire economy by 2050.

To achieve these goals, the U.S. will need to more than double its current regional transmission capacity and five-fold the number of transmission lines between regions, according to a Department of Energy study last year.

Under current regulations, large amounts of utility-scale renewable energy cannot be connected to the grid due to a lack of available transmission capacity. The rule updates the agency’s planning process and attempts to determine how costs are shared when transmission crosses state lines and passes through multiple regional grid operators.

White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the FERC rules add momentum to “historic progress” on clean energy under Biden. Zaidi said the new rules “will improve regional transmission planning, break down barriers to grid construction, and support the provision of more affordable and reliable power.”

Clements said the new rules “are both common sense and historic.”

“Whether you’re planning a family holiday or a national electricity system, planning early, having a clear understanding of your options and making informed investment decisions will lead to more affordable and reliable results,” she said.

Christie questioned the agency’s actions.

Christie said it “doesn’t matter whether the policies promoted in the final rule can be described as green, purple, red or blue.” policy.

Clements responded that the rule “starts right in the middle” and is a legal matter.

Democrats and clean energy advocates welcomed the new rules as a way to bring clean and cost-effective electricity to the grid.

Heather O’Neill, president and CEO of Advanced Energy United, which represents renewable energy providers, said: “Building more multi-state transmission lines can relieve congestion on America’s electric highways and free up our ability to meet growing energy demand.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the rule would build on clean energy incentives in the landmark climate law approved by Democrats in 2022.

Schumer said Monday that the law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, has been a “tremendous success,” but “without the ability to deliver electricity from renewable energy-generating regions to communities across the country, much of the Success will be lost.

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