IEEE publishes Collaborative Transmission Planning: California’s RETI paper by David Olsen

RETI (Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative) identified and ranked Renewable Energy Zones in California and neighboring regions, using both economic and environmental criteria, determined the transmission needed, based on least-regrets transmission planning principles, to access and deliver target renewable energy, and prepared a statewide conceptual transmission plan. RETI has been effective in identifying development priorities and in building stakeholder support for generation-transmission development for renewable energy. Its approach is applicable to other jurisdictions considering large-scale wind power-transmission construction.

WGG Submits Comments to Joint Outreach Team

Western Grid Group, Nevada Wilderness Project, Sonoran Institute and Western Resource Advocates submitted comments on Draft Recommendations from the Joint Outreach Team on January 22, 2013. Document included.

WGG submits comments and recommendations for WAPA reform.

WGG submitted specific recommendations for WAPA reform to the DOE-WAPA Joint Outreach Team & comments presented at the DOE/WAPA Workshop in Folsom, CA on July 26, 2012.

Energy Foundation Releases New Video

This video introduces you to the people who run the electricity grid, the network of power plants and power lines that keep the lights on. It takes you inside the control center for the largest power system in the world and lets utility experts explain how the variability of wind and solar generation can be managed using existing tools and techniques.

Collaborative Transmission Planning: California’s Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative

California's RETI collaborative set a high standard for aligning electricity generation and transmission with environmental values. This peer-reviewed article, in the July 2102 issue of IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, provides an overview of the rationale for both stakeholder involvement in transmission planning and for zone development of renewables.

NREL Releases Highly Anticipated Report

A new report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures), is an initial investigation of the extent to which renewable energy supply can meet the electricity demands of the continental United States over the next several decades. This study explores the implications and challenges of very high renewable electricity generation levels—from 30% up to 90%, focusing on 80%, of all U.S. electricity generation from renewable technologies—in 2050