EP 5: The Biden Administration OK’s Two Large Avangrid Offshore Wind Projects

Discover the electrifying future of highways as we discuss Indiana's revolutionary wireless charging technology with experts from the Indiana Department of Transportation, Purdue University, and Cummins. Imagine the possibilities of EVs charging on the go, potentially minimizing battery sizes and redefining road trips. Meanwhile, the winds of change are blowing off Massachusetts' coast, where the Biden administration's approval of two colossal offshore wind projects signals a turning tide in America's energy saga. These ventures, once ensnared in financial woes, have resurged, promising a combined 1,870 megawatts of renewable power to the grid after a competitive rebidding process.

Strap in for a comprehensive look at California ISO's massive $6.1 billion plan to bolster the grid and harness a windfall of offshore wind, solar, and geothermal energy waiting in the wings of Western states. We're not just theorizing; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's recent report illuminates the dire need for enhanced transmission to accommodate a burgeoning 2.6 terawatts of planned power projects. The conversation gets technical yet thrilling as we explore reconductoring, a method that could quadruple our transmission capacity with a modest cost hike. This episode isn't just about the current state of energy—it's a peek into the grid of tomorrow, made possible by visionary collaborations and the relentless pursuit of innovation.

Transcript:

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, I've got your energy stories for this the second week of April 2024. And in the first one, the Indiana Department of Transportation, purdue University and Cummins will install wireless charging technology on a quarter mile state highway in a pilot project. If the tech ever takes off, batteries could be a whole lot smaller in EVs, as they could sip whilst driving rather than carrying the whole range in the battery. But that's a long way off. In offshore wind, the Biden administration okayed two large projects off of Massachusetts last week, with New England one and two projects totaling 1,870 megawatts. These were formerly known as the Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind projects. These two projects faced past financial straits, terminating initial contracts with Connecticut and Massachusetts. Last year, owner OvenCrit rebid these renamed projects into the combined solicitation from Connecticut, massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in late March the states announced that three other companies had submitted bids as well. These include Orsted's 1,184 megawatt starboard wind project that could serve either Connecticut or Rhode Island, vineyard Offshore's 1,200 megawatt Vineyard Wind 2, and South Coast Wind, a JV between Anji and Energias de Portugal, about which few details are known. Pricing was not made public on any of these projects and awards are expected this summer. Pricing was not made public on any of these projects and awards are expected this summer.

Speaker 1: 1:33

The California independent system operator, kiso, is eyeing $6.1 billion worth of new transmission projects in PG&E service territory, with $4.6 billion of that earmarked for two projects to connect 4,700 megawatts of offshore wind to the grid. Reliability-related projects will add another $1.5 billion to the grid. Reliability-related projects will add another $1.5 billion. Kaiso's draft transmission plan will potentially tap over 38,000 megawatts of new solar, largely in Nevada and Arizona, as well as 2,100 megawatts of geothermal capacity from the Imperial Valley and southern Nevada and 5,600 megawatts of wind from Idaho, wyoming and New Mexico. That plan may be affected, though, by a new Markets Plus tariff.

Speaker 1: 2:07

The Southwest Power Pool just filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission what it terms a quote significant milestone unquote in developing its Western day-ahead electricity market that may start as early as 2027. Stakeholders include multiple utilities from states including Arizona, nevada and Washington. But there have been some concerns that Kaiso's proposed day ahead market and SPP's initiative may create some potential friction, with some observers arguing that eventually we should see a single large western market for the most efficiency. What's clear is that more transmission is desperately needed in either case. A report last week from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab underscores that thesis, noting that already clogged interconnection queues got even lengthier in 2023. 2.6 terawatts of planned power projects are looking to connect to transmission, up 27% from 2022, and equal twice the country's existing installed capacity.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Overwhelmed analysts, outdated processes and the sheer volume of new and generally smaller projects have all led to these delays. Solar, battery and wind projects comprise 95% of the capacity and weighting. Even if the process is improved, there's simply insufficient physical transmission capability, with new lines taking as long as 15 years to permit and build. However, two recent studies suggest a significant portion of this shortage could be addressed by deploying somewhat more expensive but far more efficient lines on new or existing infrastructure.

Speaker 1: 3:39

An early April report from GridLab and Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy suggests that this approach, called reconductoring, could significantly boost new transmission capacity at a relatively low cost. The report estimates that with reconductoring, 64,000 gigawatt miles of new transmission could be added to the US, versus about 16,000 gigawatt miles using standard technologies. That 4x capacity would come at only a 20% cost increase. Replacing existing conventional lines with advanced conductors can boost power by 2x for about half the price, since you can use existing poles and avoid a long and costly permitting process. This falls on the heels of a separate February report from Berkeley's Haas School of Business that modeled the US grid and found that reconductoring could significantly improve prospects for interconnection of future clean electricity resources through 2035, which is especially important given the current lamentably slow process of new transmission build-out. Here's hoping this approach, widely used in Europe and Asia, picks up speed here in the United States. Well, that's all for this week. Thanks for watching and we'll see you again next week.