U.S. government must take more action to bolster grid resilience to climate change
Efforts by the United States government could leverage the expertise and resources of partners across agencies, governments, and industry sectors, bringing together disparate missions and resources that might collectively help build national resilience to natural hazards caused by climate change, agreed experts who testified during a Wednesday hearing held on Capitol Hill by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee.
Xcel Energy, for instance, last year achieved a 51-percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels, and has a two-part plan to deliver 100-percent carbon-free energy by 2050 and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, testified Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO of Minnesota-based Xcel Energy, which serves 3.6 million electric customers and two million natural gas customers in eight states.
By 2030, Xcel Energy estimates that renewable energy will make up two-thirds of its energy mix, said Fowke, who also serves as chairman of the board of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents all the nation’s investor-owned electric companies.
“However, renewable energy can only take us so far. At higher levels of intermittent renewables, the cost of the energy system begins to skyrocket, and its reliability degrades,” he said. “That means that the whole industry — even Xcel Energy with our remarkable renewable resources — will need some form of new, carbon-free, 24/7 dispatchable generation to remove the last increment of emissions on our system and get to zero.”
And that can happen via public policy, which Fowke said could help make new, advanced technologies a reality.
“We, along with EEI and environmental groups, are encouraging Congress to pass a carbon-free technology initiative focused on federal policies that will encourage their deployment,” Fowke said. “These technologies require the kind of innovation that America can deliver. With the right policies, I’m confident that our laboratories, companies and entrepreneurs can develop these technologies and create new jobs and remarkable economic opportunities at home and abroad.”
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is on the same page, according to a new report released Wednesday during the EPW hearing.
“Private companies own most of the electricity grid in the United States, but the federal government plays a significant role in promoting grid resilience — the ability to adapt to changing conditions; withstand potentially disruptive events, such as the loss of power lines; and, if disrupted, to rapidly recover,” testified Frank Rusco, director of GAO’s Natural Resources and Environment division, who discussed the report.
Thus far, Rusco testified, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) — the lead agency for grid resilience efforts that conducts research and provides information and technical assistance to the power industry — and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which reviews mandatory grid reliability standards, have taken many actions since 2014 to enhance electricity grid resilience to climate change effects.
But both DOE and FERC must do more, he said.
For example, while DOE has identified climate change as a risk to energy infrastructure, including the grid, the department does not have an overall strategy to guide its efforts, according to GAO’s report, entitled Electricity Grid Resilience: Climate Change is Expected to Have Far-reaching Effects and DOE and FERC Should Take Actions.
“Developing and implementing a department-wide strategy that defines goals and measures progress could help prioritize DOE’s climate resilience efforts to ensure that resources are targeted effectively,” the report states.
At the same time, FERC has not taken steps to identify or assess climate change risks to the grid and, therefore, is not well positioned to determine the actions needed to enhance resilience, GAO found.
“Risk management involves identifying and assessing risks to understand the likelihood of impacts and their associated consequences,” according to the GAO report. “By doing so, FERC could then plan and implement appropriate actions to respond to the risks and achieve its objective of promoting resilience.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), chairman of the Senate EPW Committee, highlighted the GAO’s report recommendations that the federal government prioritize investments in climate-resilient electricity infrastructure.
“This report makes it clear: failing to meet the demands of a changing climate in our power sector will mean increased power outages and higher costs for the American people,” Sen. Carper said.
Look no further than to the recent events in Texas as an example of what happens when an electric grid isn’t prepared for extreme weather, Carper said, noting that the disaster is likely to cost Texans an estimated $90 billion to fully recover from the economic damages caused by an extreme weather event fueled by climate change.
“Leaving millions of people vulnerable to extreme weather can’t be our new normal. We need to heed this report’s urgency and build back a better electricity sector that is more resilient, safer, and cleaner for our health and our climate,” said Carper. “Texas is a reminder that Americans are already paying the true costs of climate change. We cannot afford further inaction.”
Xcel Energy’s Fowke agreed, saying, “Congress can help. We believe that the right kind of clean energy standard would help promote clean energy transformation.”
And to accelerate clean energy development, Congress also must reform the current clean energy tax incentives by providing a direct pay option and by addressing tax normalization, Fowke added.
GAO completed its report at the request of Sen. Carper and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
