The post A Step In The Struggle To Move Clean Energy From West To East appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The map shows the Southwest Power Pool’s current area of operational oversight of the U.S. … [+] electrical grid. Southwest Power Pool The Western states have the renewable resources of wind and solar in abundance. But the big power needs lie east in the population centers of the Midwest and the Atlantic Coast. The West generates and the East consumes. Since the introduction of utility-scale wind turbines in the 1980s, a lack of transmission has led to growing frustration for generators and planners. In a world without other considerations, new power lines would streak across the country, bringing clean energy to consumers in the East. The idea of west-to-east transmission is dear to the hearts of renewable enthusiasts, and the federal government but, especially, to the generating utilities of the West. Not the least of these is the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association , a rural electric cooperative, and its colorful and dynamic CEO, Duane Highley. He is the consummate Western outdoorsman and individualist: He rides motorcycles, hunts, fishes, and is an active musician and churchman. The antithesis of a staid utility executive. Collectively Joining The SPP The good news for Tri-State and a community of utilities in the West is that they are collectively joining the Southwest Power Pool’s regional transmission organization. This will support reliability and affordability with more clean energy, help them with a variety of issues, and enable power to move east. Initially, seven Western utilities will join the SPP in 2026 and will start to enjoy benefits, which will include the ability to sell surplus power into a larger market and will enable them to build more renewables with the assurance that there are markets and other services. More Western utilities are expected to join in time. The SPP is unique, Lanny Nickell, its executive…

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Filed under: News - @ October 21, 2023 6:16 am