7 June, 2011

The renewable energy industry knows all too well that one of the greatest hurdles to its growth is the outdated transmission system. While the government hasn’t jumped on the issue as quickly as the industry would like, major companies such as Google are taking steps to expand lines and transport electricity.The mid-Atlantic region holds 20% of the U.S. population, but the region has limited access to land-based renewable-energy resources. Reuters recently reported that Google and its partners (Good Energies, a private firm, and Japan’s Marubeni Corp.) have cleared the first major hurdle with U.S. regulators to build a USD 5 billion transmission line that would transport electricity from wind farms off the Atlantic coast. According to the article, the companies backing the project can earn a 12.59% return on their equity investment in the proposed power line, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled.The project consists of two parallel transmission lines stretching from northern New Jersey to southern Virginia, and could transport up to 6,000 MW of electricity that would provide power to 1.9 million households. Electricity carried by the 250-mi lines would connect with the main electric grid at onshore sites in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.The project still needs the Interior Department’s approval, as well as permission from several state agencies and the regional power grid operator, PJM. The companies hope to have the first phase of the transmission line operating in 2016.