"With two Biden appointees, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is more likely to favor Democrats, who want it to respond to the booming demand for renewable energy."
"Only a few years ago, the federal agency that regulates the transmission of electricity, gas and other energy matters was looking into ways to prop up coal, in line with former President Donald Trump’s fossil fuel agenda.
But Biden administration appointments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have tipped the power balance of the commission, and it now is poised to hasten a clean energy transition.
If it takes on the challenge, the commission could help solve one of the biggest problems facing the developers of renewable energy: long waits while grid operators study whether their solar or wind farm can be connected to the nation’s electric grid safely and without causing blackouts.
Earlier this month, the nation’s largest grid operator, PJM Interconnection, told Inside Climate News about plans to put reviews of as many as 1,250 energy projects, most of them solar, on hold for two years to deal with an overwhelming backlog. PJM manages the grid in all or part of 13 states, from Virginia to Illinois."
James Bruggers reports for Inside Climate News February 15, 2022.
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