Hydropower Transmission Siting and Interconnection Overview (8)

Information current as of 2019

A hydropower developer must consider issues related to the associated transmission lines and interconnection of the generation facility to the electric grid. Pursuant to the Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has jurisdiction over interconnection of wholesale generators that need to connect their generation facilities to a transmission system. FERC has authority over “public utilities,” which under 16 U.S.C. § 824a(e) includes any person who owns or operates facilities subject to jurisdiction of FERC. This also includes any person who owns or operates a facility for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce and to the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate commerce. Interstate commerce has been interpreted broadly to include when the transmission system is interconnected and capable of transmitting electric energy across the state boundary, even if the contracting parties and the electrical pathway between them are in one state. See Florida Power & Light Company, 29 FERC, ¶ 61, 140 at 61, 291-92 (1984). To obviate the delays and lack of standardization that once discouraged merchant generators from entering the market place and thereby provided an unfair advantage to utilities that owned both transmission and generation facilities, FERC established a uniform set of procedures and agreements to govern the process of interconnecting to the grid.

A FERC hydropower license establishes access to federal lands for transmission lines sited within the FERC license boundary. However, the FERC license is subject to conditions set forth by the federal land management agency/agencies charged with the administration of federal lands that may be impacted by the proposed project. Federal land management agencies may also require the developer to obtain a right-of-way or special use authorization if transmission lines will cross over federal lands administered by those agencies. The conditions of the right-of-way or special use authorization may be similar to the conditions contained within the FERC license, but provide the land management agency with some limited, independent jurisdictional authority over the operation of the hydropower project as it pertains to the project’s potential to impact agency lands. For transmission lines located outside of the FERC license boundary, the developer will need to obtain access to federal lands through the relevant land management agency’s rights-of-way application process. These rights-of-way will also contain any mandatory terms and conditions the agency deems necessary for the protection of federal land resources.

If proposed transmission lines will cross private land, the developer must obtain a property right to use the land, which may be accomplished by purchasing the land or negotiating a lease with the private landowner. Alternatively, a FERC hydropower license may allow a developer to obtain private land within the FERC project boundary through the process of eminent domain.

If proposed transmission lines will cross state lands, the developer must obtain state land access from the appropriate state land manager and may be required to obtain authorization for interconnection to the grid from the appropriate state agency. For transmission lines located outside of the FERC license boundary, the state may also require the developer to obtain any necessary rights-of-way, encroachment permits, and/or a Certificate of Public Good, a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, or similar approval from the state utility regulatory authority. These approvals ensure public and onsite safety; grid connection, accountability and transparency.

Transmission Siting and Interconnection Overview Process

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