New FERC Transmission Rule Will Help Improve Long-Term Planning to Responsibly Expand the Grid
Sandhill Cranes. Photo: Gary Grossman/Audubon Photography Awards
WASHINGTON (May 13, 2024) – Today the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced its Grid Expansion Rule, which will help modernize how the U.S. connects to and transmits power along the nation’s grid. The rulemaking improves long-term regional transmission planning processes to support a clean energy transition in ways that are cost-effective for communities and beneficial for wildlife.
“The U.S. needs long-term transmission planning to build a more resilient and reliable grid that meets future energy needs in ways that benefit people and wildlife,” said Alice Madden, senior director of climate strategy at the National Audubon Society. “As Audubon’s Birds and Transmission report lays out, planning must consider siting and land-use early in the process with feedback from impacted communities as well as conservation organizations. This will support more strategic regional planning and help us rapidly expand transmission capacity to protect against the most extreme impacts of climate change while also avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating impacts on bird habitats and local communities.”
In 2022, Audubon submitted joint comments as part of the Conservation and Renewable Energy (CARE) coalition in response to FERC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, emphasizing the need for a strong, clear rule that responsibly addresses environmental and energy justice planning and siting criteria.
Improved regional planning is needed to address regulatory hurdles and help streamline and accelerate the transmission buildout. According to a study from the Department of Energy, the United States must double its existing regional transmission capacity to meet its clean energy goals by 2035. Audubon’s report, Birds and Transmission: Building the Grid Birds Need, notes that increasing transmission capacity is needed to support the clean energy transition and avoid the worst impacts of climate change for birds and people. The report shares best practices grounded in science for how to minimize collision and habitat impact-related risks to birds.
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.