Understanding the transmission bottleneck

Catalyst · 4 May 2023 · 41m

What this episode covers

Rob Gramlich, founder and president of Grid Strategies, explains the three major bottlenecks hindering the U.S. energy transition: transmission congestion, interconnection delays, and insufficient buildout. He details how congestion costs doubled from 2020 to 2021 and how interconnection timelines have stretched to over four years with costs exceeding $300/kW due to flawed generator-by-generator study processes. Gramlich argues that the grid is the primary constraint on decarbonization, citing that 80% of IRA carbon reductions could be lost without new transmission, and points to past successes like ERCOT’s CREZ and MISO’s MVPs as proof that proactive planning, permitting, and cost allocation can solve these issues.

Mentioned

Companies
Grid Strategies, ERCOT, MISO, FERC, Energy Hub
Products
CREZ
Also
Inflation Reduction Act

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