National Electric Transmission Congestion Study - W2agz.com

energy from Wyoming to Utah, Arizona and California,
the new generation would cause little new
congestion because the congestion solution—appropriately
located new transmission—would already
be assumed and incorporated into the simulation.
This congestion study does not address in detail
when and where concentrated development of new
generation resources would cause transmission
congestion. We are confident, however, that the
grid as built today cannot sustain major development
and use of new domestic coal, wind, or
nuclear plants without significant congestion and
deliverability problems—and that the associated
transmission requirements must be addressed in
combination with the planning of the new generation
facilities. At the same time, the additional
transmission capacity would be able to both deliver
the new generation and support other flows as well,
often reducing overall delivered energy costs and
improving reliability elsewhere in the Interconnection.
Because of the chicken-and-egg relationship between
new generation capacity and new transmission
capacity in these areas, future congestion
studies will require a set of carefully-designed assumptions
and scenarios to better understand the
dynamics and impacts of alternative patterns of developing
these facilities. For the near term, the Department
has identified the source areas where possible
new generation might be concentrated as
Conditional Constraint Areas, to highlight their relevance
for likely future development. (See Figure
5-5 below.)
The Secretary, now or in the future, may designate
one or more National Corridors in relation to a Conditional
Constraint Area, if appropriate. Decisions
on National Corridors in these areas would depend
on the availability and quality of information in response
to questions such as:
1. Is there a clear regional or multi-state commitment
to develop substantial new generation resources
in the area
Figure 5-5. Conditional Constraint Areas
50 U.S. Department of Energy / National Electric Transmission Congestion Study / 2006