Transmission Backbone for Western Renewables

Renewables, mainly wind and solar, are expanding rapidly in my home state (California) and the rest of the Western Grid. Many of these are “Grid-Scale” generation projects – hundreds of MW. Also, many of these projects tend to be concentrated a particular area because of concentration of the renewable resource (mostly wind) or financial consideration (like low-cost long-term land-lease arrangements from the federal government or other landowners).

This paper covers a baseline analysis for the Western Interconnection, including data development, analysis methodology, and discussion of results. The Western Interconnection Baseline Study (baseline study) provides an assessment for how potential investments in transmission and renewable generation projects could contribute to achieving future decarbonization goals across the Western Interconnection. By modeling a high renewable generation scenario for the year 2030, the baseline study provides an initial assessment of how transmission lines in advanced permitting stages, combined with anticipated new renewable resources, align with national decarbonization goals. In doing so, it establishes a comparative baseline for transmission and generation expansion scenario analyses in the forthcoming National Transmission Planning (NTP) Study Report.