Skelly said markets and mechanisms are critical, “so that private actors can come in and compete and beat the crap out of each other and bring costs down.”

“It’s not a gale-force wind, but it’s a little bit of momentum out there in the world for us to tap into,” said Michael Skelly, the CEO of Grid United, a Houston-based transmission developer.

You would think in eight years, you would have sort of a lull, but it’s a sort of a mad dash every day to move these projects forward,” Skelly said. “It’s more like an Ironman [Triathlon], not a marathon. It’s more like a decathlon, but it goes on for eight years.”

That “could accelerate everything we’re doing in our clean energy transition and probably provide some pretty nice [cash flow] features to fund additional capital investment,” said James Chapman, the chief financial officer at Virginia-based Dominion Energy Inc. “So it all seems pretty good.”

Gale Klappa, executive chairman of Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group, said he expected that extensions of renewable tax credits would happen. “It’s such a sausage-making machine in Washington as you know, but if I were a betting man, I think something will pass,” Klappa said, referring to the “Build Back Better” plan under consideration through the budget reconciliation process.

One of the lessons was that power companies need to engage the public early and be willing to change course in the face of well-reasoned criticism, as opposed to ramming through a project.

...new transmission can be sited and routed with broad support from the public and the communities most impacted by it.

Power companies can reduce conflict by building transmission lines in existing corridors, like along highways and railroads, but those options can be more complicated and costly.

The changes—which include giving the federal government more authority to intervene in state-level permitting decisions—are meant to expedite the approval of new transmission lines, which often encounter regional opposition and face years of delays.

Developers expect the new measures to streamline approvals but say they might not be enough. Companies proposing transmission lines say they often face local opposition, protracted state-level study processes or pushback from rival companies that don’t want new sources of electricity coming into regional markets.

“You look at the history in the U.S., and it’s very tough,” said Mike Garland, chief executive of transmission and renewables developer Pattern Energy Group, which recently started operating a 155-mile transmission line in New Mexico that took about seven years to finish.

“A couple of people can stop a transmission line, and that’s really bad news,” Mr. Garland said. “For us, the infrastructure bill provides a number of benefits that can help. It doesn’t solve the problem.”

Rob Gramlich, founder and president of power-sector consulting firm Grid Strategies LLC and executive director of advocacy group Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, said the Energy Department’s expanded ability to resolve and perhaps override state-level decisions could have a significant effect on efforts to expedite projects. But he said it remains unclear how the agency would use the new tools.
“It may just be the big stick they carry around while speaking softly in these regional transmission efforts and state siting proceedings,” Mr. Gramlich said. “But when everybody knows that stick exists, their behavior might change.”

Critics of transmission projects over the years have cited various concerns including the use of eminent domain, environmental impacts and potential effects on property values, among other factors.

Transmission line projects often face pushback during the permitting process, including opposition from established power providers. Companies that own nuclear and fossil-fuel plants have raised concerns about their ability to compete with wind, solar or hydropower delivered from other markets.

Maine residents last month voted to reject a $950 million transmission line under construction by Spain’s Iberdrola SA that would carry Canadian hydropower into the New England market. NextEra Energy Inc., a power company that operates a nuclear plant and an oil-fueled power plant in Maine, donated about $20 million to a political-action committee opposing the project and was joined by several other companies with plants in the area.NextEra declined to comment. Avangrid Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Iberdrola that is behind the project, is fighting the ballot measure in court.

“This is really about the transition from the old to the new, and how we manage that,” said Avangrid’s deputy chief executive, Bob Kump.
Some Maine residents also raised concerns about the project’s potential harm to state forests and questioned whether the developer overstated its environmental benefits.
Sandi Howard, a music professor and Registered Maine Guide who leads a grass-roots opposition group, said the removal of tree canopy could hurt tourism and pose environmental and wildlife harms, including disturbing deer wintering areas and hurting native brook trout.
“Sometimes people throw up NIMBY,” said Ms. Howard, referring to the acronym for “not in my backyard.” “It’s bigger than that.”

Chris Miller, the council’s president, said he remains concerned that the federal government could override state-level decisions on transmission projects without having to consider alternatives with potentially less environmental impact.
“You’re basically taking state and local self-determination and exchanging it for the administrative fiat of FERC,” he said. “If your goal is to protect the environment, that is not acceptable.”

Plundering the land of Missouri landowners for private gain is not heroic nor commendable, but rather a shameful abuse of eminent domain laws by an out-of-state billionaire who aims to ship government subsidized wind energy across our state’s borders and profits into the pockets of investors. It does not benefit the state when private companies manipulate our eminent domain laws to serve only their bottom line and not our citizens.

... the author’s attempt to equate the corporate behemoths behind Grain Belt Express to true Missouri trailblazers like Mark Twain, J.C. Penney and Walt Disney is an insulting attempt to mislead, misguide and distract readers from the facts. 
First, the Grain Belt Express is not a product of a Missouri genius, but rather an outdated idea of a Chicago billionaire whose intent is to drive profits for investors. If Grain Belt Express was truly innovative they would be taking notes from the SOO Green which delivers renewable energy underground on existing rail rights of way through Iowa to the Eastern U.S., eliminating land and environmental impacts of above-ground merchant transmission lines.

Even the Clean Path NY project (of which Invenergy is a partner) is buried underground. One would think an actual genius could modify the Grain Belt Express project to provide all of the “benefits” of clean power without the major disruptions. But corporate greed stands in the way of actual progress.

... it may surprise some readers to learn the Grain Belt Express is a purely optional merchant transmission line which has not been ordered or required for any ratepayer need. Instead, it is a private, supplemental, profit-making endeavor as a merchant transmitter of electricity that is not restricted to wind energy. It is NOT funded by ratepayers because it is not for them. It is funded by investors who receive the benefit from the project. As an optional project, Invenergy can cancel the Grain Belt Express at any time. In fact, the project may never be built if the economics do not translate into returns for investors. For this reason, the project should not be allowed to take land “for a public use.” Landowners deserve certainty, not smoke and mirrors, and Grain Belt Express should not interfere with landowner rights before it even has customers and financing for their project.

Citified PR Person:  These local yokels think it's fun to gather at the end of the growing season and throw big festivals that they call "fairs" to display the things they have wasted their time growing over the past year.  They give out awards and everything!  Here's where we come in:  The locals auction their projects off for money at the end of the festival.  It appears that purchasing one of these food things garners great respect for the purchaser.  Our idea is to have GBE bid on these things!

Executive:  Why would we have to compete to own one of these animals?  Can't we simply take it from the local using eminent domain?  Besides, what do we want with farm animals?  I can't keep those kinds of animals at my home in Chicago.

Citified PR Person:  Well, sir, it appears that the locals send these animals to the butcher and then feed off their flesh over the winter.  Also, our eminent domain authority does not cover the taking of farm animals, however, if you want that changed I'm sure it can be done, but maybe not as cheaply as buying a cow.

Executive:  *screams*  That's barbaric!  I demand allegiance from state legislatures everywhere!  Besides, everyone knows that meat is manufactured at supermarkets, not created by killing things. And you must know that eating meat is causing climate change.  Everyone must stop eating meat in order to save the planet!

Citified PR Person:  I was prepared for that... so I also have another option.  Sometimes they auction off vegetarian options, such as pies.  But pies don't cost as much or earn as much respect for the purchaser.

Executive:  I like pie!  But you may also purchase animals for the express purpose of disposing of them in order to end their planet-warming flatulence.  Here's $10,000.  Now go forth and buy some goodwill.

A project to generate electricity using wind turbines in Kansas and distribute the power in the Midwest and east coast is moving forward.
Invenergy has purchased nearly half of the land it needs in northern Missouri for the construction project that will begin in earnest in 2023. All of those deals have been the product of voluntary negotiations with landowners willing to sell, according to the company, although Invenergy could have used eminent domain to acquire the land.

In certain circumstances, for example when landowners have stated their intention not to
engage in a voluntary negotiation process or have repeatedly refused attempts to be contacted by the Project, the only option available to Grain Belt Express is to pursue a legal proceeding for right-of-way acquisition. Missouri law requires landowners be notified in writing no less than 60 days in advance of the intended initiation of any right-of-way acquisition legal proceeding. Kansas has no prior notice requirement, however the Project intends to inform landowners prior to beginning any legal proceedings. To be clear, this letter is being mailed to all landowners for informational purposes and does not constitute such notice.

If we are not able to come to terms on an easement agreement within 60 days of this letter, Grain Belt intends to file a condemnation action regarding the referenced property.

As it relates to the proposed acquisition, under the Missouri law, you have the right to:

b. Make a counteroffer and engage in further negotiations;

The issue could come up again next year, but Luckey said the company isn’t concerned with that, as Invenergy is open to talking with lawmakers.
“It’s about coming to the table and letting them know we respect their point of view and the constituents they represent,” Luckey said. “We want to be a partner with them, and we are going to continue education and outreach with citizens and lawmakers.”

Luckey said linking the Grain Belt Express to the power grid could have helped avoid the massive power outage Texas experienced in February.
“The line would have made it possible to import substantial amounts of excess electricity to supply from other regions to address those outages,” Luckey said.

Invenergy also lists benefits to Missouri including  the possibility of using the infrastructure to improve broadband internet connectivity to underserved areas.

The California power grid operator told the public to prepare to conserve energy next week if needed as homes and businesses crank up their air conditioners to escape what is forecast to be a brutal heatwave.

But the ISO said it will notify the public if it needs to take steps to reduce electricity use, including a call for public conservation and if the grid becomes seriously stressed, rotating outages.

The group responsible for North American electric reliability has already warned that California is the U.S. region most at risk of power shortages this summer because the state increasingly relies on intermittent energy sources like wind and solar...

Texas's embattled electrical grid operator warned residents to cut electricity use "as much as possible" for the rest of this week, as several days of heat over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C), combined with generation outages, could strain the grid even before summer officially starts.

ERCOT was "supposed to have enough reserves to meet peak demand this summer, yet here we are in mid June with the first bout of high temperatures and they are already seeking conservation," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData, a provider of commodities data and analytics.
"It does not bode well for the months ahead," Smith said.

Ever since President Xi Jinping pitched the idea of a “global energy internet” to the United Nations six years ago, China’s been trying to persuade the world to build the high voltage highways that would form its backbone. That plan to wrap the planet in a web of intercontinental, made-in-Beijing power lines has gone pretty much nowhere. Yet the fortunes of so-called supergrids appear to be turning, if not on quite the spectacular, Bond-villain scale Xi first envisaged.

Dominion Energy Virginia is seeking public feedback and advice about linking its planned wind farm, 27 miles off the Virginia Beach shore, to the 500 kilovolt backbone of its statewide power grid at the Fentress substation on Centerville Turnpike in Chesapeake.

Is there a "good" way to present a transmission line proposal to the public?  Not if you're approaching the communities with a fully-formed idea of what you're going to build and where you're going to put it.  The only good way to involve a community in a transmission proposal is to approach them with a need before making decisions about what to build and where.  Presenting a community with a problem to be solved and allowing meaningful input into the solution selected is the only way a transmission company can get community buy-in and support for the proposal.  Everything else is nothing more than a battle to push a bad idea the community doesn't want off onto someone else.

The power company has part of the route nailed down: the 27 miles of underwater cable to a landing point at the state military reservation at Camp Pendleton. It also has proposed an underground route through the southernmost reaches of Naval Air Station Oceana, to comply with regulations restricting structures near airfields, which the Navy must still review.

Its research into what’s on the ground, in terms of neighborhoods, wetlands, wildlife and historic resources has led it to six options for the final roughly 15 miles to the Fentress station.

“We can look at maps and desktop it, but it’s not until we talk to people that we’ll really understand these alternatives,” said Kevin Curtis, Dominion’s vice president, electric transmission.

One option for one of these routes would be to bury the lines for a stretch. That could create much more disruption during construction and mean they were costlier to install and repair than running lines overhead but would mean that portion of the lines would not be visible.

Five routes would run along the never-built Southeast Parkway, now an open space corridor through the most densely populated neighborhoods between Oceana and an area southwest of Princess Anne Road, between the Virginia Beach National Golf Course and the Princess Anne Athletic Complex.

The tax credit would stimulate both of the main types of transmission projects—regulated rate- based projects and “merchant” lines whose costs are recovered through negotiated or market- based capacity reservations. In the case of regulated lines, a utility or Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) would allocate the costs through a state or federal (FERC) regulatory process across a set of wholesale or retail customers. In that case, the tax credit would reduce the costs paid by those customers and make the cost allocation and approval process easier so more projects can move forward. In the latter case of merchant projects, the transmission capacity reservation costs that developers need to recover from wholesale customers would be reduced by the tax credit. This would allow the transmission developer to offer a more attractive price to customers, increasing the odds of success.

By reducing the cost of electricity, a transmission tax credit can significantly reduce the burden of electricity costs on lower-income Americans. Electricity costs are regressive in that they hit the lowest income Americans disproportionately hard. Electricity accounts for 3.7 percent of total household expenditures for lower-income Americans, versus only 1.4 percent for the highest-income Americans. This is because electricity is a necessity for many aspects of modern life, so the poorest Americans can only reduce their electricity consumption to a limited extent. Unlike other products, it is not possible to use a lower-cost substitute, as a kiloWatt-hour used by a lower-income family is the same and costs the same as one used by a higher-income family. In addition, lower-income Americans have less ability to invest in cost-saving energy efficiency upgrades. As a result, those in the highest 10 percent income bracket only spend twice as much on electricity as those in the lowest 10 percent bracket; for other goods, those in the top 10 percent spend nearly six times as much.In contrast, the federal taxes used to offset the cost of a transmission tax credit are much more progressive, with the top 10 percent of earners paying 60 percent of total federal taxes, and the bottom 30 percent paying negative tax rates due to policies like the earned income tax credit. As a result, a transmission tax credit that moves costs from utility bills to tax bills is very progressive.