Around Town

Building A New Grid Without New Legislation

Monday, Dec 14, 2020

WHAT TIME?
Monday, December 14, 2020 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

Convened by The Earth Institute, this webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Click to register in advance

Expanding and strengthening the transmission grid is a key enabler of an affordable and rapid transition to a zero-carbon power sector in the United States. However, it has become conventional wisdom that sufficient development of new long-distance high-voltage transmission projects is not practically achievable due to onerous state requirements for permitting and acquiring land for such projects.

Congressional action could certainly address the regulatory and barriers that currently prevent long-distance high-voltage transmission from being developed at the necessary speed and scale. However, according to new research from the Center on Global Energy Policy and NYU School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) could use existing authorities to overcome state regulatory obstacles and advance transmission development, even without new Congressional action. 

The Center on Global Energy Policy and NYU School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity will host an event to  discuss this new research and potential next-steps that these agencies could take that would allow them to facilitate transmission system development in order to accelerate the transition to zero-carbon electricity.

Welcome Remarks:

• Dr. Melissa C. Lott, Senior Research Scholar & Lead, Power Sector and Renewables Research Initiative, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA

Moderator:

• Professor Michael Gerrard, Founder and Faculty Director, Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Presentation: 

• Justin Gundlach, Senior Attorney, NYU Law School’s Institute for Policy Integrity
• Sam Walsh, Partner at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP

Panelists:

• Rob Gramlich, Founder and President, Grid Strategies LLC
• David Hill, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA
• Cheryl LaFleur, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to our website following the event.

This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Artealia Gilliard (ag4144@columbia.edu) or Genna Morton (gam2164@columbia.edu).

For more information about the event, please contact Caitlin Norfleet or Nicolina DueMogensen (energypolicyevents@columbia.edu).