AUGUST 20259CANADACANADAwas one of the early challenges. Plans for new or rebuilt transmission lines were developed to accommodate the shift in generation. In late 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama announced a national plan to develop a 765 kV grid to move energy from generation to load anywhere in the country; however, it was never realized. Utilities and developers worked with regulatory agencies to find new energy corridors in the face of the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) response. States that were not benefiting from the energy transfer did not support new corridors. In time, each state, along with the incumbent utility, developed its segment of the solution. In Minnesota, it was CAPX2020, and in Iowa, it was the MVP series of projects. Today we are still hearing about the Sun Zia and Gateway to the West projects, all of which are part of the continued need to move energy from the central U.S. to the coasts. More recently, new renewables have trended from wind to solar generation. Technology supporting the renewable industry has exponentially advanced, combining renewable and storage technologies. The cost of renewable generation continues to drop, while coal-fired generation has increased as clean coal technologies are developed.The renewable industry has now matured, regulations have been updated, energy corridors have been developed, and technology has changed how renewable energy is incorporated into our local communities. Many neighborhoods now include distributed generation (rooftop solar, small wind turbines) and energy storage units like the Tesla Wall. Xcel Energy’s studies in Boulder, Colorado, have shown that integrated microgrids, built on a backbone of distributed generation and energy storage, are a viable alternative to expanding a distribution grid to increase reliability.Our standard of living is tied to reliable electric energy and our industry has done an outstanding job of balancing the needs of the consumer with the demands of clean technology. The integration of technology into our grid has been foundational in maintaining high reliability while integrating intermittent renewable generation with baseload generation with very little negative impact on our daily lives.With these advancements in technology, we are hardening our aging electrical infrastructure on the East Coast, incorporating more storage capacity into the grid with clean generation technology on the West Coast and solidifying interconnects to move the energy from where it is generated, to where it is needed while maintaining the high degree of reliability, we all expect. The renewable industry has now matured, regulation has been updated, energy corridors have been developed, and the technology has changed how renewable energy is incorporated into our local communities
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