Recent Developments:
CEERT recently signed a contract in May of 2007 with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to improve the energy cost/value of California’s electricity by providing scenarios for the development of varying quantities of renewable resources in optimal locations and the corresponding transmission required. There are four components to this contract: (1) Provide the CEC with information needed to guide renewable energy and transmission development sufficient to meet AB 32 and Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals, (2) Estimate the costs and benefits of developing varying amounts of wind, geothermal, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and organic waste resources, including transmission access and system integration costs, in regions across the state and in neighboring states, (3) Identify candidate Renewable Resource Zones (RRZ) that may justify proactive development of transmission, and (4) Support and, as necessary, lead development of consensus plans of service for transmission needed to achieve state RPS and emissions reductions goals.
In June of 2007 CEERT successfully completed a contract with the CEC for the primary purpose of facilitating such participation and collaboration in the planning and permitting of transmission facilities for two major California renewable resource zones–the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area and the Imperial Valley. As part of this collaborative process, the project was to facilitate the identification of solutions to problems that create roadblocks to the construction of new transmission facilities.
Both the Tehachapi and Imperial transmission infrastructure projects have been designed, studied, and approved by the CAISO. SDG&E has filed a CPCN application for the “Sunrise PowerLink,” a major portion of the export plan recommended by the IVSG; it has not yet been approved by the CPUC due to controversy over a route for the transmission lines. Applications have also been filed and approved by the CPUC for the initial segments of the Tehachapi project, and applications for the remaining segments are expected to be filed in June 2007.
The permit review process at the CPUC has been substantially streamlined, incorporating most of the recommendations of both the IVSG and the TCSG, and a project manager appointed by the CPUC to expedite further work on the Tehachapi project, as proposed by the TCSG.
Cost recovery issues have largely been resolved with the establishment of a “backstop” ratemaking mechanism and approval in April 2007 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of a third category of transmission ratemaking proposed by the CAISO.
These successful outcomes represent significant steps toward California’s goal of incorporating large amounts of renewable energy into the state’s electricity portfolio.
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