By Bracken Hendricks of the Center for American Progress
Read the full report (pdf)
Additional Information Including Maps, Infographic, and a background basic of Building a National Clean-Energy Smart Grid.
A truly national clean-energy smart grid must consist of two distinct components: an interstate transmission “sustainable transmission grid” that will transport clean utility-scale renewable energy long distances to market, and a digital “smart distribution grid” to deliver this electricity efficiently to local consumers. The absence of a national grid that seamlessly integrates these two components isone of the biggest impediments to large-scale deployment of low-carbon electricity.
In this paper we outline a plan to develop such a secure, reliable, interoperable, national, and clean electricity grid to power America’s coming clean energy economy. Our particular policy recommendations focus on the principle bottle necks for building grid projects. These include:
- A framework for collaborative multi-state planning to match new grid
investments to our resource base - A stronger proposal for siting new transmission projects tied to this
plan, giving greater power to the federal government but requiring
strong state participation - Broad-based cost allocation to ensure that no single region must bear
the cost of a national undertaking - Smart-grid investments and standards to deploy new information
technology, controls, and advanced metering infrastructure on the
transmission and distribution grid
In addition, major crosscutting issues aff ecting each of these areas include the need to address workforce developmentl and training needs to build and maintain the grid, enhancing the security and reliability of the grid through these investments, and strategies to promote financing of projects, both public and private, to ensure that these grid enhancements are built efficiently and in a timely manner.
Read the full report (pdf)
Read the National Clean Energy Project Vision Statment
Tags: Bracken Hendricks, CAP Action, CAPAF, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Clean Energy, National Clean Energy Project, NCEP, Smart Grid
