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Wind Power Waiting on Transmission-Line Boom

Transmission lines are becoming the single-largest obstacle to the continuing growth of U.S. wind power. But some investors, such as T. Boone Pickens, view the barrier as an equally large opportunity.

One of the windiest areas in the country, for example, is in the Dakotas. But getting electricity from the Dakotas to customers in major cities will take hundreds, even thousands, of miles of new or updated transmission lines.

The Midwestern Transmission System Operator estimates that transmission lines stretching from the Dakotas to New York City would cost $13 billion, but claims the cheaper wind power would save consumers $600 million per year in their electricity bills.

Long distance lines are only part of the overhaul.

Wind power also is more intermittent than coal- or natural-gas-fired power plants, and that makes delivery more of a challenge.

Rich Lordan, a director at the Electric Power Research Institute, notes that – because of wind’s fickleness – a high percentage of wind on the grid will need a better transmission system than the current one.

“The wind energy will need to be backed up by a number of sources to ensure it stays smooth,” he said. “It will need a very robust transmission system, more robust than the one today.”

After all, today’s grid is vulnerable to increases in the demand for electricity and to variations in the energy loaded onto it, he said. That’s because consumption drives the system, dictating when the grid must dole out electricity.

Lordan said the grid is likely shifting to a system where some consumers agree not to use electricity during times of peak demand, when the price becomes too high. Utilities would take them offline when the price reaches those levels, in effect managing demand spikes and avoiding outages.

Demand-response companies, such as EnerNOC (NSDQ: ENOC) and Comverge (NSDQ: COMV), are already moving down that route. They have a number of programs in place to sell utilities “negawatts,” or negative megawatts, by reducing customers’ power use on demand.

“It’s a smart grid,” says Lordan. “If the price gets too high, you can decide not to run the dishwasher.”

The smart grid will be able to detect where there are lulls in wind in advance and redirect the power from other sources.

Europe has taken efficiency a step further by building direct-current lines. Most of our power today is transported by alternating current, which is the type of electricity that runs household appliances. But some have argued that direct current, which loses less power when traveling longer distances, makes more sense for wind power than alternating current. Direct current lines can be placed under the ocean, opening up more possibilities for offshore wind farms.

Decades of Regulatory Delays

Despite the opportunity, nothing about building lines is easy. In fact, both proponents and skeptics of the idea of 20 percent wind point out that the lack of transmission represents the single-largest barrier.

Aside from the expense, transmission lines face a rigorous approval process. Because customers usually end up footing the bill in the form of electricity rate hikes, companies must convince public utility commissions that their project is in the public interest. Applicants must also obtain right-of-way permits to gain access to public land. With opposition from local communities who don’t want power lines in their backyards, these approvals can sometimes take years to get.

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Comments [6]

  • Jim Burrows 11/13/08 2:54 PM

    In initiating a solar powered camp in the semi remote woods of the foot hills of the Adirondack Mountains I’m a firm beleiver that renewable energy can work. Looking at a huge project of renwing power to the grid by means of green souces is ultimate in keeping the way we live our life styles. But small substations behind everyones house seems more a reality to me. I believe after watching the thieves of this land rape the money foundation of the United States it’s time for the American worker/people to take charge and incorporate our own electricity. Even if this country went to fully renewable power and the big guy’s still own it, we the people that built this country through learning and hard work will not pay less for utilities. But if unconnected from the grid we can control our own destiny’s. Instead of dumping 700 billion in something that will make smart investers very fat let’s dump that money into households so all of America can spend money again at places besides Walmart and lead imbedded chinese toys. I’ve read and listened to some of Pickens comentary’s. He’s on the right track and as an ivestor I would like to know who will be doing the work so I can get in on the ground floor and become rich myself. But, If we just looked at the education we have in front of us on our computers we can all have FREE power at our house’s. Will it be free with Pickins plan?

    Reply
  • adam moritz 07/25/08 9:15 AM

    Imagine the amount of distributed renewable energy generation that could be purchased with those billions of dollars.  No habitat destruction or violation of property owners’ rights would be necessary.  Think of the energy needed to manufacture, transport and put in place all the aluminum, steel and concrete—not just for the transmission lines themselves but the substations as well.  Think of the renewable energy turned into waste heat from transmission line impedance and substation losses.  Think of the labor involved in building and maintaining all of this.  New transmission lines are completely unnecessary in the presence of abundant solutions such as negawatts through green building, distributed renewables with smart grids, waste heat recycling and small-scale cogeneration. 

    By the way, Pickens’ plan for sucking water from the already over-taxed ogallala aquifer and pumping it to Dallas (a town without a clue about real water efficiency) is as much of a disaster as the transmission lines.

    He could get accomplish more renewable generation and more water distribution in a much more ecologically sound, socially equitable and profitable manner by investing in distributed renewables and rainwater catchment infrastructure WITHIN Dallas and other Texas cities.  The paradigm of centralized production and distribution of natural resources needs to be shrunk to a fraction of its size if there is to be real and lasting peace in this world.

     Reply
  • Jim White 07/26/08 4:06 AM

    greensolutions - Talk to thousands of your neighbors and see how many of them are willing to invest thousands of dollars in distributed energy sources.  Remember, T Boone Pickens nor anyone else will be paying for it.  Are you and your neighbors willing to make this investment?  What are the sources for the distributed generation?  Gasoline??  Unreliable wind or solar??  Your idea will never happen without a major technological breakthrough.  So, the real question is how do we survive for the next few decades?  I say thanks to Mr Pickens for helping out us all!

     Reply
  • Michael Powes 07/27/08 9:40 AM

    There is a new world wide web emerging right before our eyes. It is a global energy network and, like the internet, it will change our culture, society and how we do business.  More importantly, it will alter how we use, transform and exchange energy.
     
    Enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world’s energy needs for a full year. There is no energy supply problem, there is an energy distribution problem—and the emerging solution is a new world wide web of electricity.

    For more information, see http://www.terrawatts.com

     Reply

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