FOR THE FIRST TIME, New England has a detailed analysis of the investment needed in our region’s energy infrastructure to ensure that clean energy will be able to reliably move around the region to power our homes and charge our vehicles. 

ISO New England’s 2050 Transmission Study, finalized last month, is the first the regional grid operator has undertaken examining the region’s transmission system in detail beyond the traditional 10-year planning horizon.

Born out of discussions with the New England states, the transmission study assesses where and to what degree the region’s transmission lines and transformers would be overloaded by the increased amount of power that will be needed as the heating and transportation sectors electrify—and to identify efficient, cost-effective solutions for these concerns.

Based on assumptions about the region’s future resource mix and demand for electricity provided by the New England states, the study estimates the region will need to invest between $16 billion and $26 billion on transmission infrastructure over the next 26 years to ensure a reliable clean energy transition.

These numbers may sound daunting, but they’d be spread out over multiple decades and are actually in line with annual averages for reliability investments over the past 20 years. It’s important to note that these estimates do not include investments needed on the region’s distribution systems, or potential transmission upgrades unrelated to the clean energy transition.

There are, however, opportunities for savings along the way. For example, the study found that reducing peak consumer demand for electricity through significant increases in demand response initiatives and energy efficiency programs could keep costs in the lower end of the identified range, and, though not analyzed as part of this study, could potentially lead to savings in other areas as well.

With these findings, the New England states are already exploring what additional actions are possible at the state-level to address the potential growth in consumer demand. 

The study includes several high-level roadmaps that identify transmission upgrades needed to support future demand and satisfy reliability criteria while tackling challenges in delivering electricity to densely populated areas in Greater Boston, northeastern Massachusetts, and northwestern Vermont. The study also examined solutions for southwestern Connecticut. 

Other key takeaways address how the region can most efficiently utilize existing infrastructure and how the location of generating resources and their connections to the grid can impact reliability. 

The release of the 2050 Transmission Study is the culmination of two years of collaboration between the ISO, the New England states, and stakeholders, but it’s hardly the end of the story. The ISO has already made changes to allow for more studies like this in the future, and discussions are underway on how the region can take these results and turn them into tangible projects.

Working together with the New England states, the ISO plans to submit a proposal to our regulator this year creating a process for the ISO and states to choose which transmission system concerns to address, solicit transmission project proposals, and advance those proposals towards construction and operation.

We hope these study results and processes, particularly the identification of the system upgrades most likely to benefit the region under a range of future resource mixes, will aid policymakers and industry stakeholders as they make decisions about tomorrow’s power system.

There are paths for New England to achieve its goal of a future power system that use much more renewable energy and reduces carbon emissions. Not only can we get there, but we can do so with a transmission system that doesn’t look too different from the one we have today —and at a price that’s in line with our spending over the past two decades.

ISO New England is proud to have completed this study, and we are eager to continue working with our partners to move the region forward.

Dan Schwarting, manager of transmission planning at ISO New England, led the group that completed the 2050 transmission study.