IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2021 - 66

beneficiaries change over time) and expedited siting and
permitting processes.
✔ Principles for a macrogrid: The integration of the
macrogrid into the existing ac systems serving regional
needs will require unprecedented regulatory and
engineering coordination. Some principles to consider
for designing a macrogrid include
* Connecting regions with diverse load and generation
profiles: The macrogrid will connect regions that
have different wind, solar, and load characteristics
and connect renewable energy zones to load centers.
* Having the smallest cost and footprint possible: It is
essential to maximize the use of existing transmission,
highway, and railway rights of way to reduce
lengthy siting and permitting challenges.
* Taking advantage of existing surplus transmission
capability: Future interconnection points should take
advantage of existing " brownfield sites " with surplus
transmission capabilities when possible. That said,
not all surplus transmission capacity links to highquality
clean energy resources, and it may not be sufficient
for future generation needs. Some " greenfield
sites " of entirely new lines and substation facilities
may need to be constructed.
* Having a network of transmission lines to maximize
overall grid resiliency: The macrogrid network
should use looped (redundant) transmission where
possible for layered defense in depth against multiple
operational contingencies and extreme weather
events. For example, an outage of a path on the macrogrid
should not lead to overloads on the underlying
ac network.
* Being both tightly integrated and able to separate
safely when necessary: The transmission grid should
be tightly integrated to share the resources that provide
reliability services essential to maintaining a
healthy system frequency. But at the same time, it
should have the capability to separate or break apart
quickly and safely to prevent a cascading collapse
from affecting multiple regions. The integration of
a macrogrid into the existing separation plans will
require careful engineering coordination.
* Being built out in several stages: For effective execution
and to maintain a balanced, reliable operation
over time, the macrogrid network should be built out
in multiple, planned stages over decades.
Many studies find that large-scale transmission is a
key enabler to the affordable, reliable decarbonization of
electricity or energy. Transmission can complement and
facilitate a better utilization of storage and DERs. Because
transmission planning and coordination need to occur
at a national or even international scale, leadership at the
highest levels of government is critical to realizing a clean
energy future.
66
ieee power & energy magazine
For Further Reading
P. R. Brown and A. Botterud, " The value of inter-regional
coordination and transmission in decarbonizing the US electricity
system, " Joule, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 115-134, 2020. doi:
10.1016/j.joule.2020.11.013.
" TYNDP 2020 main report, " ENTSO-E, Jan. 2021.
https://eepublicdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/public
-cdn-container/tyndp-documents/TYNDP2020/Foropinion/
TYNDP2020_Main_Report.pdf
A. L. Figueroa-Acevedo et al., " Design and valuation of
high-capacity HVDC macrogrid transmission for the continental
US, " IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 36, no. 4, pp.
2750-2760, July 2021. doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2020.2970865.
" Renewable integration impact assessment, " Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Carmel, IN, 2017. [Online].
Available: https://www.misoenergy.org/planning/policy
-studies/Renewable-integration-impact-assessment
J. Pfeifenberger, S. Newell, and W. Graf, " Offshore
transmission in New England: Benefits of a bsetter planned
grid, " Anbaric, Wakefield, MA, 2020. [Online]. Available:
https://newengland.anbaric.com/wp-content/uploads/
2020/07/Brattle_Group_Offshore_Tranmission_in_New
-England_5.13.20-FULL-REPORT.pdf
C. T. M. Clack, A. Choukulkar, B. Coté, and S. McKee,
" Transmission insights from 'ZeroByFifty', " presented
at the Energy Systems Integration Group Transmission
Workshop, Nov. 11, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www
.vibrantcleanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/
ESIG_VCE_11112020.pdf
Biographies
Debra Lew is with Energy Systems Integration Group, Boulder,
Colorado, 80305, USA.
Jordan Bakke is with the Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55121, USA.
Aaron Bloom is with Nextera Analytics, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, 55107, USA.
Patrick Brown is with the MIT Energy Initiative, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 02139, USA.
Jay Caspary is with Grid Strategies LLC, Higden, Arkansas,
72067, USA.
Christopher Clack is with Vibrant Clean Energy, Boulder,
Colorado, 80301, USA.
Nicholas Miller is with Hickory Ledge LLC, Delmar,
New York, 12054, USA.
Antje Orths is with Energinet, Fredericia, 7000, Denmark.
Alison Silverstein is with Alison Silverstein Consulting
LLC, Austin, Texas, 78660, USA.
John Simonelli is with Flashover LLC, New Hampshire,
06016, USA.
Robert Zavadil is with Enernex, Knoxville, Tennessee,
37932, USA.
p&e
november/december 2021

https://eepublicdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/public-cdn-container/tyndp-documents/tyndp2020/foropinion/tyndp2020_main_report.pdf https://eepublicdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/public-cdn-container/tyndp-documents/tyndp2020/foropinion/tyndp2020_main_report.pdf https://eepublicdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/public-cdn-container/tyndp-documents/tyndp2020/foropinion/tyndp2020_main_report.pdf https://www.misoenergy.org/planning/policy-studies/renewable-integration-impact-assessment https://www.misoenergy.org/planning/policy-studies/renewable-integration-impact-assessment https://newengland.anbaric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/brattle_group_offshore_tranmission_in_new-england_55.13.20-full-report.pdf https://newengland.anbaric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/brattle_group_offshore_tranmission_in_new-england_55.13.20-full-report.pdf https://newengland.anbaric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/brattle_group_offshore_tranmission_in_new-england_55.13.20-full-report.pdf http://www.vibrantcleanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/esig_vce_11112020.pdf http://www.vibrantcleanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/esig_vce_11112020.pdf http://www.vibrantcleanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/esig_vce_11112020.pdf

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2021

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