Heinrich and Lee in January. Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images
The Senate has turned its focus to the power grid — but with little sign of any bipartisan agreement.
Why it matters: An Energy and Natural Resources hearing on Wednesday marked its first examination this year of power grid issues.
- It came as the Energy Department announced it's canceling a Biden-era loan guarantee to a Midwestern transmission line.
Driving the news: The hearing broke down along ideological lines, with ENR Chair Mike Lee touting fossil fuels and nuclear as the way to meet demand.
- "If we don't wake up to this reality, the lights are going out," Lee said, referring to DOE warnings issued this month.
- "We need utilities, developers, states and Congress to start telling the truth about this, the grid is not ready. The system is not built for this."
Ranking Member Martin Heinrich responded that wind, solar and batteries are the most camera-ready power projects, making up 95% of projects currently seeking to connect to the grid.
- "At a time we need every single electron we can get, the reconciliation bill is causing many clean energy projects to be canceled," Heinrich said.
Friction point: Sen. Lisa Murkowski criticized the Interior Department's recent move to require wind and solar projects to obtain Secretary Doug Burgum's approval.
- The move is "distracting and taking away the time" needed to tackle other energy challenges, she said.
- Recalling 1970s government actions to limit or ban natural gas–fired generation, she said, "We're back at this place where it's kind of dangerous to pick winners and losers."
- Alaska's grid is seeking to connect wind and solar projects along with natural gas plants and hydropower.
Zoom in: Both sides used hearing witness Jeff Tench, an executive with APAC Vantage Data Centers, to bolster their opinions.
- Tench said one project in Virginia built an on-site gas plant to supply operations, while a Nevada project relies on a solar-powered grid.
Between the lines: Congress could order FERC to take further action to speed power grid studies. House Republicans have prioritized fossil fuels and nuclear for fast-track treatment.
- Lawmakers are also seeking a deal to accelerate permitting as talks heat up about limiting environmental reviews.
- Early discussions among Senate Democrats are focusing on a "Grow the Grid" proposal, according to people familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity.
- That could include grid-enhancing technologies to get more juice out of the existing grid, lowering the pressure to build new transmission lines.
Zoom in: Transmission projects "should be bipartisan and the unifying force that commands Congress' attention," Rob Gramlich, founder and president of Grid Strategies, told senators.
- Nuclear and fossil fuels "face that same constrained grid," he said.
- The grid "may seem like it's a renewable energy piece of infrastructure, but that's just because over the last five years, that's all anybody was trying to connect to the grid," Gramlich said.
- He added that anything that blocks supply "is definitely raising prices."
After the GOP reconciliation bill, "policymakers are going to be evaluating whether coming to the table in this moment makes sense," said Sarah Venuto, principal and counsel at Cornerstone and a former ENR Democratic staffer.
- "But the fact remains that our grid is stressed," she said. "We need to find bipartisan solutions to enhance reliability, pull more from the existing grid and to target specific investments for grid expansion."
What's next: ENR is likely to dive deeper into these issues when two FERC nominees, Laura Swett and David LaCerte, appear for their confirmation hearings.
