The future of energy transmission in California

The future of renewable energy in the United States depends largely on creating renewable energy capacity. New projects have been developed across the country, and since 2007 more money has been spent each year on renewable energy capacity than conventional power. Unlike conventional power, renewable energy technologies cannot be centrally located due to geographic sensitivities. Wind, solar, and geothermal power is created in areas that are typically quite remote, mostly the desert areas of California.

For this reason, perhaps more important now than creating the renewable energy capacity needed to keep up with the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) or goals for renewable energy generation set forth by twenty-nine states, is the transmission of that power to where it is needed.

This task is easier said than done. In California, existing transmission lines are at capacity and many of the new renewable technologies such as concentrating solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) plants are located in the Mohave desert, far from coastal urban centers. So, to better plan renewable energy projects, based on both generation and transmission, California formed the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI).

The goal of RETI is to plan projects with respect to cost-effectiveness and environmentally sensitive areas. RETI also engages many stakeholders, including the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), along with publicly owned and investor owned utilities.