Ariana Carmody
Civil and Environmental Engineering, Atmosphere and Energy program ‘26
On a trail not far from my house, my dad and our two dogs walked in between miles of transmission lines. The walk reminded me of how integral transmission is to our daily lives and why my internship with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) is especially relevant.
There is a significant lack of transmission lines in the West. This challenge is driven by aging transmission infrastructure, load growth from electrification and data centers, renewable energy integration, and grid congestion. For WECC, an agency tasked with maintaining the reliability of the bulk electric system, this issue is especially pertinent.
For my project, I was tasked with developing a white paper addressing key policies and transmission planning efforts in the Western Interconnection. The paper explores how these differing policies and plans create risk and/or opportunities for transmission development. My paper specifically comments on the lack of regional and interregional transmission projects that are often more cost effective, better integrate renewable energy, and alleviate grid congestion.
When I was initially tasked with the project, it was extremely overwhelming given the breadth of policies and plans related to transmission. I found my footing once I started interviewing people from within my company and around the industry. I am grateful to everyone who volunteered their time to meet with me. In each interview I began by asking the question, “What is the greatest challenge to transmission development in the west?” and ended by asking, “What silver bullet could significantly improve transmission development in the west?” I was amazed by the diversity in responses from people from different backgrounds: utilities, transmission authorities, energy consultants, and WECC. Some people said the main issue was permitting and siting while others said it was a lack of market incentives or difficulty allocating costs for jointly owned transmission projects. These meetings not only deepened my understanding of transmission but also helped guide the focus of my report.
My report provides a background into the different state and federal policies impacting transmission, key challenges for transmission development, an overview of recent transmission planning reports, and opportunities including additional transmission planning governance and electricity markets. While my work doesn’t introduce anything new to the transmission industry, my report will hopefully act as a resource for policymakers and other transmission stakeholders to guide decisions.
I am grateful for the opportunity to spend the summer learning more about transmission and compiling what I have learned to provide others with a resource to learn too. While I have always had an interest in the energy industry on the generation side, this experience has broadened my knowledge of the energy industry as a whole.
Thank you to the WECC team and everyone who supported my work this summer.
