Wind turbines growing more numerous and more powerful

From an Article by Rachel McDevitt, State Impact Pennsylvania, May 27, 2022

PHOTO IN ARTICLE ~ Turbines that are part of the Sandy Ridge Wind Farm in Centre and Blair counties. Wind energy is one option for electricity consumers in Pennsylvania.

The electric grid operator for the region that includes Pennsylvania is PJM (aka Pennsylvania – Jersey – Maryland) is preparing for a shift in electricity generation. There are nearly 700 Pennsylvania projects waiting in PJM’s queue. Most are solar projects. PJM recently released a road map for the grid of the future.

Over the next 15 years, it expects to add 100,000 megawatts of renewable power from sources including onshore and offshore wind, solar, and battery storage. Right now there are about 15,000 MW of renewables on the PJM grid. It takes one megawatt to power about 200 homes.

PJM estimates it will cost $3 billion to bring on those resources. Some of those costs could be offset by federal infrastructure money. But some will ultimately filter down to consumers’ bills. However, some experts argue that the low cost of generating renewable energy and a more efficient grid will save money in the long term.

To prepare, PJM is looking to streamline the process for new sources to join the grid and studying how to expand transmission and maintain reliability. Electric generators and municipalities within PJM recently voted to speed up and improve the process for getting new power on the grid. The plan is expected to go into effect later this year or in early 2023. Under it, proposed projects would be addressed on a first-ready, first-served basis rather than first come, first served. PJM would also simplify its analysis of project costs.

This PJM operator says the number of projects entering its New Services Queue has nearly tripled over the past four years, because of the rapid growth in renewables. PJM started this year with nearly 2,500 projects under study, with the vast majority of proposed megawatts coming from renewable or storage resources.

The plan would create a fast track for about 450 projects. There are nearly 700 Pennsylvania projects waiting in PJM’s queue. Most are solar projects.

PJM Interconnection coordinates the movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania has a total generation capacity of more than 48,000 megawatts.

About StateImpact Pennsylvania ~ StateImpact Pennsylvania is a collaboration among WITF, WHYY, and the Allegheny Front. Reporters Reid Frazier, Rachel McDevitt and Susan Phillips cover the commonwealth’s energy economy. Read their reports on this site, and hear them on public radio stations across Pennsylvania.

CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK

From Mike Tidwell, Director, CCAN — Climate Action News, April, 2015

March for Calvert County, MD to be Dominion-Free on May 30th!

Join Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community and climate activists across the region for a peaceful rally, march and community picnic. We’ll reclaim the area surrounding Dominion’s Cove Point construction site as “for the people.” Stand with residents of Lusby, Calvert County and Southern Maryland to show that the people still reject Dominion’s dangerous fracked gas export project. We need your voice, your presence and your energy on May 30th!

STUDENTS — VA Students Lead the Way to a Fossil-Free Future

The Virginia Student Environmental Coalition has had an inspiring semester of action, growth, and new possibilities. Check out everything they’ve done this spring — from flexing their political muscles in Richmond, to organizing the state’s biggest-ever student climate summit, to holding a 21-day sit-in at the University of Mary Washington (pictured to the right) demanding the school divest from fossil fuels. And, they’re ending on a bang with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Resistance Ride in May! Read the full update here.

MARYLAND — By the Numbers: Your impact in Annapolis

The 2015 General Assembly session concluded with a big, people-powered victory: Passage of legislation prohibiting fracking for natural gas in Maryland through at least October 1, 2017. From fighting fracking to pushing for wind and solar solutions, your voices had a huge impact this year in Annapolis. Here are just a few highlights:

5,351 total emails to state delegates and senators ahead of key votes on the fracking moratorium bill.
1,510 messages — and counting — urging Gov. Hogan to sign the fracking moratorium into law.
312 phone calls and 68 lobby visits urging state lawmakers to expand Maryland’s clean electricity standard.

VIRGINIA — Pipeline Fight Heats Up: Submit your #NoACP comment to FERC!

The federal review process has now officially kicked off for both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline — proposed to carry dirty and dangerous fracked gas across Virginia’s beautiful countryside. The opposition is only growing, and here’s how you can add your voice: 1) Click here to demand a full and fair federal review of Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline before tomorrow’s April 28th deadline. 2) Speak out at one of two upcoming federal hearings in Virginia on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Join Us For a Great Party. Celebrate a Growing Movement

On May 27th, join us in Norfolk for an evening reception to celebrate the growing movement to protect our coast from rising seas, and honor the elected officials and climate champions galvanizing action for solutions. Meet other passionate climate activists, hear a keynote address from Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, and enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres, local wine and beer in a beautiful downtown Norfolk setting! Click here to see the honorees and get your tickets: $25 regular admission and $10 for students.

Check Out DomTruth.org and Pass It On

On Earth Day — when we’re always on high alert for “greenwashing” from Dominion Virginia Power — we launched a new interactive website to expose the truth:
www.domtruth.org

Explore Dominion’s dirty energy secrets and spread the word!

Rally on July 13^th at National Mall to Protest Cove Point LNG Export Terminal

RE: July 13th Cove Point Rally in Washington, DC

In just 10 days, people from across the Mid-Atlantic will be marching through the streets of Washington, DC to stop fracked gas exports at Cove Point. As my friend Bill McKibben said by video invitation,“It’s a doable, winnable fight – if we show up.”¹

With a Cove Point decision pending from President Obama’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as early as this August, we need to show up — in our biggest numbers yet.

Will you be there on July 13th? Stand with us in Washington to say NO to gas exports at Cove Point, NO to more fracking and pipelines — and a loud and proud YES to the wind and solar power that won’t leak, explode or flood our communities.

What: Rally to Stop Fracked Gas Exports at Cove Point and Beyond!

When: July 13th 12:30-3:30PM

Where: Rally begins west of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall. Meet at the intersection of 3rd St NW and Madison Drive NW, Washington, DC 20216. March to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Transportation: Bus seats are available from Calvert County, MD, Charlottesville, VA, Richmond, VA, the Philadelphia area, and New York City. Click here for bus info and the rally ride board.

Sign up here to march with us July 13th in DC, and ensure you get updates on all the final logistics.

We’re all connected in this anti-fracking movement — upstream, downstream, and everywhere in between. Just look at who’s coming to DC:

Karen Feridun is coming from Pennsylvania because gas exports at Cove Point will mean more fracking by companies like Cabot Oil & Gas — and more communities facing spills, illnesses, and undrinkable water.

People are busing in from across Virginia, where neighbors are rising up to fight three new gas pipeline proposals that could cut across farms, parks, and even the George Washington National Forest.

Scientist Sandra Steingraber is coming from New York, where a recent court victory affirmed the rights of towns to ban fracking, because, “The only things Americans get from LNG exports are terrifying new health and safety threats, worsening climate instability, and higher heating bills — all so that the gas industry can make bigger profits from fracking us.”

Will you be there to stand with us? Sign up here to march against fracked gas exports July 13th in DC.

Forward, Mike Tidwell, Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

PS: Need a ride? Click here to join a bus or carpool — folks are coming from across the Mid-Atlantic.

PPS: Learn more about why we’re standing against fracked gas exports at Cove Point by clicking here.

1. Click here to watch Bill’s video invitation.