American Transmission Co.'s (ATC) 10-year plan to address the need for electric grid improvements highlights projects that are driven by sustainable energy generation proposals along with ongoing asset maintenance for achieving the highest standards in reliability, efficiency, and safety.
"Our long-term planning efforts require flexibility to support an evolving, sustainable energy future," said Andy Dolan, vice president of system planning. "We have seen over 2200 MW of fossil-fueled generation retire in our footprint since the beginning of 2018. Meanwhile, we are studying proposals from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to connect over 8200 MW of solar generation and almost 1500 MW of wind generation. To plan a robust transmission system, we're analyzing the trends of this changing generation mix to best meet the needs of our owners and energy consumers."
Specifically, the plan calls for expenditures of US$1.8 billion in asset maintenance, US$0.2 billion in regional multi-value projects, US$0.4 billion in network projects, and between US$0.5 billion and US$1.1 billion in other capital expenditures.
"Our asset maintenance projects are driven by the need to address aging infrastructure initially installed decades ago," said Jim Vespalec, director of asset planning and engineering. "Overall, project expenditures in the 2020 plan reflect the measures necessary to maintain and reinforce the system and upgrade its resiliency."
The full plan is available for viewing here.
