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Very few people know of the North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC), but they play a critical role in our daily
lives. The job of NERC is to maintain the reliability and security of the
electric power system of the United States and Canada – and most every nation
has a similar agency charged with keeping the lights on for their country. Looking
forward to plan new energy infrastructure is critical in a growing economy with
a shifting population.
For the first time, the NERC 10 Year Assessment is in
alignment with GENI’s initiative to link renewable energy resources across all
regions. They forecast 260,000 MW of new renewable development – mostly
wind and solar farms. This is 13 times the existing renewable capacity and
reflects the increasing demand for clean, domestic energy sources.
The NERC recommends 32,000 miles of new high-voltage
transmission to access these renewables and ensure system reliability. In
many cases, the best wind, solar and geothermal sites are found in remote
locations and even neighboring nations. The transmission grid enables clean
electricity to be delivered to all. As stated by Mark Lauby of NERC, “The
time is now to address concerns like transmission siting, secure smart grid
implementation, and the integration of renewable resources.”
We’ve attached the International Energy Agency
2009 graphic of World Electricity Generation. You can see that Thermal Fuels
(coal, oil and gas) have dominated in the past 4 decades – so there’s a real
challenge in making this shift to clean energy sources. We are encouraged
by the US commitment to accelerate clean energy projects, and we would like to
see this strategy copied by all nations. My request: please share this
initiative with the President and Prime Minister in your country. Ask them to
collaborate with your neighboring nations – because working together is the
path to sustainability.
In partnership for the planet, |
