EER has recently profiled nine of the largest transmission initiatives under development in the western United States, which alone are set to unlock 57GW of new wind power.
While most of these large-scale projects are not scheduled for completion until after 2015, hundreds of smaller transmission lines and grid upgrades can provide a more immediate impact on wind power development in the USA. Wind development in the USA remains constrained by an inadequate and aging transmission infrastructure that hampers the delivery of wind generated power from regions of wind-rich resource to population centers with growing clean energy demands. With none of the large-scale transmission initiatives expected to come online between 2008 and 2012, annual growth in the US wind market may stall at 8-9 GW per year according to EER. EER's research findings were released in a report, Transmission Initiatives Adapt to Wind US Growth, part of the company's North America Wind Advisory Service.