Electric Transmission and Carbon Reduction: A Survey of Environmental Leaders and State Regulators.

Excerpt from the Executive Summary:

From March, 2009, to December, 2009, the Center for Energy Economics and Terra Group surveyed state and federal regulators, environmental leaders, industry representatives and other key stakeholders in the U.S. electric power transmission system. This survey updates an earlier study completed in 1996. At that time, few “non-traditional” stakeholders were interested in transmission projects.

This situation has changed significantly. At present, public discussion of high-voltage transmission has been subsumed within broader policy debates about reducing greenhouse gases, moving renewable energy over long distances and redesigning our nation’s overall electric system. New players – including national environmental groups, academics, Washington think tanks, trade associations and renewable power generators – now play a major role in shaping public debate about transmission siting and need.