Administration releases Quadrennial Energy Review

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April 29, 2015

The Obama Administration has introduced a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) to address the future of energy transmission, storage, and infrastructure distribution in the U.S. The review provides a road map for Congress with the goal of improving energy infrastructure, ensuring safe transport of volatile energy material such as oil, gas, and coal, securing a stable electrical grid, and leveraging domestic energy production.

The report highlights vulnerabilities to critical energy within the U.S. While the U.S. is a substantial producer of oil and natural gas, it has outdated infrastructure for millions of miles of pipelines and transmission lines, thousands of rail transport lines, and hundreds of natural gas storage facilities and ports handling petroleum. The report emphasizes the risk to pipelines and transmission lines from storms, rising sea level, and increased temperature.

The report has been met with positive comments from industry and Congress. Democrats have indicated their intent to introduce a bill to modernize the U.S. electric grid in keeping with the QER recommendations. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) stated that she plans to send a comprehensive energy bill to the Senate floor by summer. The committee is already considering two energy reform bills—Senator Martin Heinrich’s (D-NM) bill to amend the Federal Power Act to improve the siting of interstate electric transmission facilities (S.1017) which would grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) backstop power to authorize power lines that states reject, and Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) APPROVAL Act (S.485) which would prevent the exercise of eminent domain for particular transmission projects without explicit permission to do so from state and local government.

Source: Department of Energy, E&E News