Outdated transmission system stalls progress on wind power

From a Gannett news article by Larry Bivins published in the Fond du Lac Reporter:

WASHINGTON — Wind has become the nation's most viable renewable energy option, and industry experts see plenty of potential in Wisconsin as policymakers demand that a larger percentage of energy come from wind, the sun and other clean-energy sources.

Last year, the state had the fourth highest rate of growth in wind capacity with the addition of three large wind projects, according to the American Wind Energy Association. The state now has 448 megawatts of wind power capacity.

Three major wind projects are in Fond du Lac County: Forward Wind Energy Center, Blue Skies Green Fields and Cedar Ridge Wind Farm.

But as support builds for wind and other renewable options, a major question remains: how to move electricity from the wind-swept prairies where it's generated to the big cities where it's needed.

Experts agree that the network of wires that move electricity from power plants to private homes and pubic buildings is old and unreliable. Adding renewable energy to the load would likely be too much for the system to handle.

Already, more than 70,000 megawatts of wind projects in the Upper Midwest are on hold because of insufficient transmission capacity, according to the AWEA. That could provide electricity for at least 14 million households.

"Transmission is really the glass ceiling for renewable energy development right now," said Beth Soholt, director of Wind on the Wires, a coalition of wind energy advocates based in St. Paul, Minn.