NYISO official: Transmission network must be upgraded to handle renewable energy output
WATERTOWN — Upstate New York continues to develop more wind, hydroelectric and solar power, but upgrades to transmission lines and load centers are needed to deliver that electricity to high-demand areas downstate.
That was one of the state’s energy-related hurdles discussed by Richard Dewey, executive vice president of the New York Independent System Operator, during a meeting Thursday with the Times editorial board.
NYISO is an Albany-based nonprofit company responsible for operating the state’s nearly 11,000-mile high-voltage transmission network. Utility companies such as National Grid buy power from the wholesale electricity market administered by the company.
Subsidies from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority aimed at increasing solar and wind energy output have spurred an increasing number of renewable energy projects across the state, Mr. Dewey said. But he said increased energy output has made it urgent to upgrade the state’s aging transmission network.
