The policy brief was released by John Dalton, president of Energy Consulting LLC and leader of the network’s grid and transmission operations group, ahead of the expected publication of New Jersey’s offshore wind distribution plan to connect 7.5 GW of generation to the grid. The brief builds on the success of the state’s transfer request, which has prompted dozens of private-sector bids, and provides for multi-state transfer requests within the same Regional Transfer Organization (RTO).
The U.S. offshore wind industry is booming with a total of 77.4 GW of long-term government demand, powerful new federal manufacturing and development incentives, and efforts to build trust and transparency in the permitting system. These market drivers have invested more than $12 billion in the US market and could lead to tens of thousands of new jobs. The network established the task force in 2019 and said the transmission system, which cannot bring these projects to the grid without costly system upgrades, remains a critical barrier to unlocking this growth.
“Using the full potential of offshore wind will require a national effort to coordinate and build the grid for the future,” said Sam Salustro, vice president of strategic communications at Business Network Offshore Wind. “While we push for national cooperation, the U.S. offshore wind market is growing rapidly and needs today’s transmission solutions to continue building momentum.”
The policy brief outlines five key principles for developing a multistate distribution request, from identifying potential environmental and economic benefits to developing a cost allocation proposal. Key insights, particularly learning from New Jersey’s state compact approach, include the need for active RTO involvement, a robust analysis of potential costs and benefits, and well-defined policy objectives to guide any inquiry.
John Dalton, Network Grid and Transmission Working Group Leader, added that a well-designed offshore wind development process can deliver significant cost savings for ratepayers and long-term market certainty for investors.
“We’re seeing this play out in New Jersey, but achieving significant savings requires moving beyond a single-state approach to capture more benefits from regional issues,” Mr. Dalton said. “This paper provides a model for stakeholders to consider.”
The Network Grid and Transmission Working Group has already laid out the need for an integrated distribution plan in its first two reports, and argued that federal government action would be helpful in planning a long-term, large-scale grid plan. All three reports are available online. In early November, the network will host the Grid and Transmission Summit, a full day of facilitated discussion designed to advance the conversation around offshore wind deployment.
For more information:
Business network for offshore wind
Integrated transmission development proposal for offshore wind in multi-state RTOs
