WASHINGTON — With hundreds of gigawatts of solar, wind and storage sitting in interconnection queues across the country, state regulators are increasingly being faced with the conundrum of how to get more clean energy on already congested power lines.

At least part of the answer lies in a range of new technologies and strategies for optimizing existing distribution and transmission lines and rights of way, according to speakers on a Feb. 13 panel at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) Winter Policy Summit in D.C.

For example, David Townley, director of public policy for CTC Global, pitched for advanced conductors — like the ones his company produces — as “the fastest, lowest-cost way to add substantial capacity to an existing system.”

These conductors — wires that allow more electricity to flow on a system — use a “core made of carbon composites [that are] much lighter than the steel core of the conventional technology,” Townley said. “You can literally change wire for wire … but now you can upgrade the capacity on that line and increase the efficiency [and] lower the line losses immediately as soon as you energize that line.”

Allie Kelly, executive director of The Ray, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, believes that “the highway right of way is the solution that has been hiding in plain sight. The next-generation highway seeks to leverage that public asset — the public land and right of way — to enable and clear the way for new transmission development and construction,” she said.

Looking toward the electrification of commercial fleets, Kelly said, charging hubs for those vehicles are likely to be located adjacent to highways. “So, this is actually a very practical solution because you’re utilizing the right of way of the highway to provide the energy that will be required by these heavy-duty fleets.”

The Ray also promotes siting solar in highway rights of way, with an online mapping tool aimed at locating interstate interchanges that could be used for solar.

“We really need to have a dialogue and a conversation with the states, with the utility commissions, with developers, looking at existing infrastructure,” said Patricia Hoffman, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity. “Where can we maximize existing capacity? Where do we need to have additional capacity transfers across the United States so that we can develop the renewable energy but also get [it] into the markets in the most efficient and effective way possible?”

Building a Better Grid

Hoffman provided an overview of DOE’s thinking on transmission and the funding and financing opportunities made available under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The department’s recently announced Building a Better Grid initiative includes integrating existing rights of way into national transmission planning, and Hoffman said collaboration will be key for achieving the “early wins” that optimizing existing transmission with grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) can produce. (See DOE to Tackle Tx Siting, Financing, Permitting in Better Grid Initiative.)

Looking at how GETS may change systems operation is yet another opportunity, Hoffman said. “How do we look at the operation of the system so that we get those most out of the topology we have?”

On the funding side, the IIJA includes $5 billion for system hardening and upgrades and another $5 billion for “innovative demonstration projects” that improve grid resilience, Hoffman said. It also authorizes DOE to become an “anchor tenant,” purchasing capacity on transmission projects, and to directly finance projects to get them “across the finish line.”

While not talking directly about the complex issues surrounding the permitting of new transmission, Hoffman suggested that system upgrades could provide momentum for new projects. “If we can utilize existing rights of way, existing capacity on the system, hopefully we can accelerate some of those opportunities for getting transmission built,” she said.

Bottom-line Benefits

Beyond upgrading lines with advanced conductors, utilities and transmission operators are also now looking at other GETs, such as dynamic line ratings (DLRs) and topology optimization, said Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies.

DLRs vary the capacity of transmission lines based on multiple real-time conditions, Gramlich said. “When the wind is blowing, particularly perpendicular to the lines … or if the temperature is cold, you can deliver more megawatts over the same line without running into safety [or] reliability concerns,” Gramlich said. If that wind is also turning a wind turbine, “there’s great alignment with renewable energy.”

DLRs can also be used to redirect power to reduce congestion and increase financial savings, he said. Topology optimization software allows utilities or grid operators to track which circuits on their systems are open or closed on any given day; for example, if maintenance is being done. Power can then be rerouted, or different circuits opened or closed, to optimize efficiency and lower costs on a system, he said.

The challenge, Gramlich said, is that GETs may not provide bottom-line benefits to grid operators at this time. To fill the gap, state and federal regulators might consider incentives and, if necessary, requirements for including them in transmission planning, he said.

FERC on Thursday opened a docket on DLRs as a first step toward possibly requiring them for interstate transmission lines. (See related story, FERC Opens Inquiry on Dynamic Line Ratings.)

Townley argued that the economic case for reconductoring is more straightforward. Advanced conductors can be installed quickly — in some cases without shutting down the system — and without extra permitting or assessments under the National Environmental Protection Act, he said.

Putting more capacity on a line can allow more renewable energy to be interconnected on a system, reducing carbon emissions and, possibly, creating carbon credits or renewable energy credits that can be sold or traded on regional markets, he said.

A ‘Bright, Shiny Object’?

The Ray’s Kelly also pointed to the streamlined permitting that is possible if new transmission is sited in existing highway rights of way. It can cut permitting times in half — from 10 years to five years, she said — which can pencil out to $1 billion in savings.

Federal policy and funding are now encouraging transmission siting in highway rights of way, she said, calling for collaboration between state transportation and energy agencies to “establish priority corridors for new construction projects. … How many of you have talked with your state” department of transportation? she asked the NARUC audience. “The answer is never or not recently. Let’s start doing that today.”

She also cautioned that next-gen highways should not be seen as the next “bright, shiny object” in industry discussions about transmission — a quick solution to complex problems. “The right of way, whether it’s highways and interstates or the rail right of way, is an opportunity to design projects while reducing public impact,” she said. “So, it’s worth the effort to take the opportunity seriously.”

“Let’s not leave an ounce of capacity that is available online when taking a hard look at the existing system,” Hoffman agreed. “Look at your rights of way; look at your ability to reconductor; partner with your environmental offices as well as your transportation offices [and] the ISOs and RTOs. Those are the partnerships that we need to think about so we can capitalize on every megawatt that’s available.”