American Transmission Co. issues annual 10-Year Transmission System Assessment

American Transmission Co. recently released its annual 10-year plan for electric grid improvements, which highlighted an increase green energy interconnection requests from resource developers and the need for asset renewal projects to ensure reliability, efficiency, and safety.

“The combination of aging infrastructure and extreme weather can compromise the reliable, efficient operation of the existing transmission system,” Jim Vespalec, director of Asset Planning and Engineering, said. “That’s why approximately 54 percent of the projects in our 10-Year Plan are dedicated to maintaining and reinforcing the system and improving its resiliency. Our focus on asset renewal — strengthening the performance of our existing transmission facilities — helps to keep the lights on in the communities we serve.”

Andy Dolan, vice president of System Planning, noted that the growth of green sources of electric generation is being driven by consumer preference, reduced costs, and political influences.

“The generation mix is evolving from traditional fuels like nuclear, coal, and natural gas to a growing reliance on sources of green energy including wind and solar,” Dolan said. “In fact, we have seen over 1,500 megawatts of coal generation retire in our footprint since the beginning of 2018, and we are studying proposals to connect over 5,800 MW of solar generation and almost 1,000 MW of wind generation.”

Specifically, ATC’s 10-year plan calls for expenditures of $1.7 billion in asset maintenance, $0.4 billion in network projects, $0.2 billion in regional Multi-Value Projects, and between $0.6 billion and $1.3 billion in other capital expenditures.