New Report: Proactive, Collaborative, State-Led Transmission Development Can Reduce Costs and Help Achieve Clean Energy Goals

Mid-Atlantic states have multiple avenues for developing critical transmission lines that they can act on today, highlights a new report from The Brattle Group. The report, commissioned by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition (MAREC Action), identifies seven pathways for proactive transmission planning to reduce consumer, system-wide, and generator interconnection costs; create more certainty for generation development; and help states achieve clean energy goals, including offshore wind timelines.

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 10, 2024 Mid-Atlantic states have multiple avenues for developing critical transmission lines that they can act on today, highlights a new report from The Brattle Group. The report, commissioned by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition (MAREC Action), identifies seven pathways for proactive transmission planning to reduce consumer, system-wide, and generator interconnection costs; create more certainty for generation development; and help states achieve clean energy goals, including offshore wind timelines.

"The benefits of expanding the U.S. grid to deliver affordable, clean power to all Americans are clear, and there are a lot of options to help plan and execute these upgrades," said ACORE President and CEO Ray Long. "Time is of the essence, and our report lays out the opportunities for states to maximize the benefits of proactive planning, particularly for offshore wind."

"The benefits of expanding the U.S. grid to deliver affordable, clean power to all Americans are clear, and there are a lot of options to help plan and execute these upgrades," said ACORE President and CEO Ray Long.

Pathways to Coordination: Proactive, State-Led Transmission Development to Reduce Costs and Achieve Goals in PJM explores the importance of state leadership in proactive planning and opportunities for multi-state collaboration, including:

"Coordinated transmission development can reduce the cost of achieving state policy goals," said Joe DeLosa III, Manager at The Brattle Group. "Available options range from targeted single-state procurements to broader interregional opportunities, providing states several lower-cost pathways to more-effectively meet individual and collective near-term needs."

Out of the seven scenarios identified, a multi-state, multi-driver approach to proactive planning would produce the broadest benefits, but according to the report, states will ultimately need to evaluate each option in their ongoing efforts to achieve their public policy goals. The report also evaluates potential options to extend planning collaboration beyond regional borders to further maximize its benefits, such as through the ongoing progress of the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission. While the benefits from proactive planning are significant, the report emphasizes that these benefits erode as planning is further delayed.

"The goal of this report is to empower states to set their own direction on transmission planning to address multiple needs — reliability, economic growth, clean energy deployment, extreme weather resilience — in the most efficient way possible," said Evan Vaughan, Executive Director, MAREC Action. "Building offshore wind at scale in the next decade is essential to meeting electricity demand in a clean and reliable manner, but transmission planning must start today. This report offers policymakers pathways to work more closely with neighboring states and to insist on proactive, multi-value transmission planning through PJM."

To download a copy of the new analysis, click here.