August 08, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Peter V. Allen, an energy attorney with Thelen Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, credits government agencies with trying to come to grips with the obstacles to delivering renewable electricity from where it's generated to where it's needed.
The problem, according to Allen, is that a workable solution still hasn't been found -- even as the need for new transmission becomes more pressing as renewable energy projects come on line -- and officials must navigate an ever-changing landscape:
"The economic and regulatory structures of California's electric grid have evolved and grown over time. Unfortunately, that growth has been in a series of patches and improvisations: partially implementing and then pausing (but not reversing) restructuring; the demise of the California Power Exchange; the California Independent System Operator's struggles to implement nodal pricing, and so on. The result is that the growth begins to resemble some sort of tumor, rather than a grid."
Allen is among the experts who next week in San Francisco will be helping to sort out the critical questions surrounding the transmission of electricity from renewable energy projects.
Allen is formerly an administrative law judge and attorney at theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission, who focused primarily on energy and environmental issues. He will appear at the Western Transmission conference put on by Electric Utility Consultants Inc. Aug. 11-12. Joining Allen on a second-day panel devoted to government efforts to integrate new transmission with renewable energy will be Anne Gillette, on the staff of the CPUC's energy division, and Tim Mason, project manager for the engineering and construction company Black & Veatch.
Allen plans to trace the increasingly complex history of California's energy transmission structure from its origins to the present day. He'll also discuss current efforts to unsnarl the situation, including the state's Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative and the federal government's controversial National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor system.
Among other topics, the panel also will discuss the effort to identify Western Renewable Energy Zones -- a joint project of the Western Governors Association and the U.S. Department of Energy.
While at the CPUC, Allen was known for his work as an ALJ on high-profile energy policy proceedings, including allocation of $30 billion in electricity contract costs, implementation of California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard, utility asset sales and leases, and siting of electric transmission lines and substations.
For more information, contact:
Kevin Livingston
National Manager of Public Relations
Thelen LLP
415 369 7224
klivingston@thelen.com
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