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ISO New England panel sees transmission buildout key for renewables goals

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ISO New England panel sees transmission buildout key for renewables goals

ISO New England's power system planning is being heavily impacted by evolving generation technology, such as offshore wind, energy security concerns and what appears to be an inevitable need for incremental transmission infrastructure, power market participants and experts said.

ISO-NE's 2019 Regional System Plan is developed through a transparent stakeholder process designed to find ways to reliably and affordably supply anticipated power demand, Michael Henderson, the grid operator's director of regional planning and coordination, said during a telecast 2019 Regional System Plan Public Meeting in Boston on Sept. 12.

As the regional power system has to adapt to accommodate lower-emitting generation resources, ISO-NE and its stakeholders are working to meet challenges related to energy security, transmission development and greater use of inverter-based technologies such as wind power, solar photovoltaic and high-voltage, direct-current systems, Henderson said.

Energy security concerns include the region's natural gas pipelines operating at or near capacity, particularly during the winter, with major expansion supplying New England generation "unlikely," according to Henderson's presentation.

"The region is 49% dependent on gas-fired generation and expected to remain so through the planning horizon, so gas prices will continue driving power prices," Henderson said.

However, states looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are increasingly enacting public policies to promote the use of renewable energy resources such as offshore wind and Canadian hydropower. Massachusetts, for example, has recently conducted solicitations for both resources.

The commonwealth's local distribution companies have already contracted for a portion of the output from the 800-MW Vineyard Offshore Wind Project, and have issued a request for proposals for up to 800 MW more. The distribution utilities have also signed long-term contracts with Hydro-Québec for 9.45 TWh of hydroelectric power to be supplied through the $1.1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project through Maine.

'Transmission is the key'

Meeting state renewable energy procurement targets will require building extensive transmission infrastructure, but siting these projects in New England is challenging. In addition to concerns raised by landowners and environmental groups, power generators are concerned about how this large influx of inexpensive hydropower will impact the wholesale power market.

If the world really wants to decarbonize, "we will design the future power system around the load," Mark O'Malley, senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said during a panel discussion at the planning meeting.

"But in New England you don't have to do any of that because of the Canadians. You just have to be nice to Hydro-Québec," O'Malley said.

The province's hydropower reservoirs are an enormous energy storage system, but to access it "you will have to build lots of transmission, which will be hard," he said.

Other panelists agreed. "In New England I expect a major push for transmission to be built, whether for offshore wind, Canadian hydropower or renewables within New England," Damir Novosel, president of independent technology, consulting and testing company Quanta Technology, said.

"Transmission is the key … You have to connect with the Canadians and the New Yorkers," O'Malley said.

Asked about offering advice to those who build transmission, the panelists agreed educating the public is important but struggled to elucidate the best way to go about it.

"If you want offshore wind you need transmission … if you want renewables and decarbonization then you need transmission … this is not clicking with the public," Novosel said.

It would be helpful if people really understood the benefits, "but I don't know how you do that," O'Malley said.

"Education is key but you have to tell a story in a way that's meaningful," Katherine Prewitt, president of transmission for Eversource Energy, said.

An alternative could be investing lots of money in other technology like energy storage.

"Maybe we can't build transmission and will have a very expensive system with lots of batteries," O'Malley said.

Jared Anderson is a reporter for S&P Global Platts. S&P Global Platts and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.