Just a few short years ago, it was considered a fairly fanciful notion that 5% of the U.S. electricity supply could come from wind. Now we're talking about 20%. While a DOE study says it's possible, the study focused on technical, operational and economic issues. Immense investments in transmission lines to carry wind energy from the far-flung places where it's produced to where it's needed are going to require a concerted planning effort involving everyone with a stake in the country's energy future. Interesting that just today a group of government and industry heavyweights proposed a National Infrastructure Bank.

A wide-ranging study by the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says yes, it is possible to have 20% of the country's electricity come from wind by 2024. It also says no, it won't be cheap — or easy. The big "if" is transmission.

The Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study, the largest of its kind to date, focused on the bulk of utilities in the Eastern Interconnection system that covers basically the eastern two thirds of the country.

The study found: "There are no fundamental technical barriers to the integration of 20% wind energy into the electrical system, but transmission planning and system operation policy and market development need to continue to evolve in order for these penetration levels to be achieved."

Right now about 4% of the area's electricity comes from wind.

But the study also says that without additional transmission, the future for additional wind transmission isn't terribly bright. Without more capacity, there's no way to send ever-increasing amounts of power from remote wind farms to the population centers where it's needed.

David Corbus, senior NREL engineer, said, " Because building transmission capacity takes much longer than installing wind plants, there is a sense of urgency to studying transmission."

Corbus added that the lack of capacity has already begun to limit the growth of wind power in some locations.

A separate Charles River Associates study done for the Southwest Wind Power Pool's Wind Integration Task Force essentially said the same thing. That study noted that it is critical to coordinate transmission expansion growth with building infrastructure to accommodate wind energy generation.

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News Analysis Smart Grid Renewables: FERC Wants to Know What YOU Think Jan 25, 2010

If Smart Grid renewable integration is causing problems or concerns, you’ve got FERC’s ear.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is asking for help as the agency works to be sure its policies are keeping up with the growth of new renewable energy sources.

The agency is re-examining its policies to ensure that they can help integrate renewable energy into the Smart Grid efficiently and fairly while also ensuring grid reliability.

That's where you come in. FERC is asking for comment on that integration and how new energy resources will affect the following:

·         Data and reporting requirements, including accurate forecasting tools

·         Scheduling flexibility and incentives for accurate scheduling of variable energy resources

·         Forward market structure and reliability commitments

·         Balancing Authority Area size and coordination

·         Suitability of reserve products

·         Capacity market reforms

·         Re-dispatch and curtailment practices

Comments on the notice, Integration of Variable Energy Resources, are due 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff acknowledged the accelerating growth of renewables and said, "To accommodate that expansion, it is our job to ensure that FERC has in place the market and operational reforms necessary to ensure that all wholesale electricity tariffs are just, reasonable and not unduly discriminatory."