Strategic Transmission Planning and Corridors

1
Strategic Transmission Planning and Corridors

• IEPR Commissioner Workshop on Landscape-Scale
  Environmental Evaluations for Energy
  Infrastructure Planning and the Strategic
  Transmission Investment Plan
• Art Rosenfeld Hearing Room
• August 3, 2015
• Judy Grau
• Strategic Transmission Planning and Corridor
  Designation Office
• Siting, Transmission and Environmental Protection
  Division
• Judy.grau_at_energy.ca.gov / 916-550-8807

2
Todays Topics

• Statutory Background
• Recent Efforts
• Transmission Corridors
• Right-sizing
• Next Steps

3
Statutory Background

• Garamendi Principles - Senate Bill 2431
  (Garamendi, Chapter 1457, Statutes of 1988)
• Strategic Transmission Investment Plan STIP -
  Senate Bill 1565 (Bowen, Chapter 692, Statutes of
  2004)
• Transmission Corridor Designation Corridors
  Process Senate Bill 1059 (Escutia and Morrow,
  Chapter 638, Statutes of 2006)
• Relationship between STIP and Corridors
• 2015 IEPR Scoping Order

4
Recent Efforts

• May 11, 2015 - IEPR workshop on Renewable
  Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities
• June 10, 2015 - Kick-off at Governors Office for
  Solar and the San Joaquin Valley Identification
  of Least-conflict Lands
• July 9, 2015 - Governors Office symposium
  focused on Governor Browns greenhouse gas
  reduction goals
• Importance of regional coordination
• Full participation in the California ISO

5
Transmission Corridors

• Geographic locations for corridors identified in
  STIP chapter of 2013 IEPR
• Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
• San Joaquin Valley
• San Onofre back-up transmission alternatives
• Question for feedback
• For the 2015 IEPR, what are the appropriate
  corridors opportunities that should be identified?

6
Right-Sizing

• Definition
• Example SCE Tehachapi Renewable Transmission
  Project
• 2011 IEPR
• 2014 IEPR Update

7
Workshop Questions on Right-Sizing For Written
Comments

• Is right-sizing transmission a qualitative
  (policy) issue or a quantitative (metric-based)
  issue?
• What criteria should be used to assess
  right-sizing opportunities?
• Is right-sizing only appropriate for areas that
  have been studied in depth for maximum possible
  renewable build-out, such as DRECP?
• Given that new policy targets are considered for
  long-term renewable generation and GHG emission
  reduction targets, how should right-sizing
  transmission proposals be evaluated in long-term
  planning?
• Should a specific time frame be applied to the
  evaluation (10, 15, 20 years)?
• What is the appropriate way to analyze the costs
  vs. benefits of a potential right-sizing project?
  
• What is the cost of building a right-sizing
  opportunity into a future project (for example,
  build a 230 kV transmission line to 500 kV
  specifications or a single-circuit line with
  double-circuit  towers)?
• How do we evaluate if the increase in cost is
  worth the risk?

8
Next Steps

• Written comments due August 17, 2015
• Corridors identified to date and any others
• Right-sizing
• Other STIP-related comments
• The STIP will be incorporated into the Draft 2015
  IEPR scheduled for release in October 2015