The DC Swamp has gotten bigger than ever. There are literally billions of dollars in taxpayer funds being tossed around like Monopoly money. If you're part of the "in" crowd it's time to belly up to the bar and fill your pockets.
Case in point... our old pal Michael Skelly, who has created a new transmission company after he drove Clean Line Energy Partners into the ground. The new company is called Grid United and has created a suite of five new above ground transmission projects. Deja vu, anyone? Now, I'm not sure what kind of an idiot would give this man money to play a new round of "transmission developer" but I think it's a very special kind. Maybe even a fawning government bureaucrat with your money in his hands?
Michael Skelly seems to have learned absolutely NOTHING from the Clean Line failure, except to avoid the Midwest. Unfortunately for him, Mayberry is everywhere. His new "project" brain farts don't stand any higher chance of success than the last ones did. Nobody wants Skelly's electric obstructions on their land and he's probably in line for a large Deja Vu Daiquiri himself.
But here's something a bit different this time around. Skelly was rewarded for his Clean Line failure with a choice appointment to a special government committee. The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
Case in point... our old pal Michael Skelly, who has created a new transmission company after he drove Clean Line Energy Partners into the ground. The new company is called Grid United and has created a suite of five new above ground transmission projects. Deja vu, anyone? Now, I'm not sure what kind of an idiot would give this man money to play a new round of "transmission developer" but I think it's a very special kind. Maybe even a fawning government bureaucrat with your money in his hands?
Michael Skelly seems to have learned absolutely NOTHING from the Clean Line failure, except to avoid the Midwest. Unfortunately for him, Mayberry is everywhere. His new "project" brain farts don't stand any higher chance of success than the last ones did. Nobody wants Skelly's electric obstructions on their land and he's probably in line for a large Deja Vu Daiquiri himself.
But here's something a bit different this time around. Skelly was rewarded for his Clean Line failure with a choice appointment to a special government committee. The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
The Board provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on the Administration's energy policies, the Department's basic and applied research and development activities, economic and national security policy, and on any other activities and operations of the Department of Energy, as the Secretary may direct. The duties of the Board are solely advisory.
The Secretary of Energy, of course, is the political figurehead at the top of the U.S. Department of Energy. And who is giving out all those billions in "infrastructure" and "clean energy" funds provided by taxpayers? The U.S. DOE. And what has Michael Skelly and his committee advised the Secretary to do lately?
For all aspects of DOE transmission funding, prioritize projects which will enhance the interregional ties that will help regions support one another during times of extreme load or generation shortages(e.g., extreme weather events and challenging market conditions).
Prioritization of interregional projects will help compensate for lack of interregional planning, though such projects should not be seen as full substitutes for robust planning.
Ensure that interregional transmission and distribution solution projects are meeting Justice 40 Initiative (e.g., community engagement) and Just Transition (e.g., community benefit agreements) priorities (e.g., preferential weighting criteria within RFP).
Screen all projects against interregional criteria, in part to ensure that there are no interregional projects which would create similar benefits at a lower cost.
And what is Grid United trying to build? Interregional interconnections, such as North Plains Connector, "...an approximately 385-mile, up to 600 kilovolt high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line connecting the Eastern and Western Interconnections in Montana and North Dakota." Or perhaps Pecos West, "...an approximately 280-mile, 525 kilovolt HVDC intertie line stretching from Bakersfield in Pecos County to El Paso, providing a valuable link between ERCOT and the Western Interconnection." Etc., etc., etc.
Skelly seems rather eager to cash in.
Skelly seems rather eager to cash in.
After years of development, the United States is poised for a boom in long-distance transmission, Skelly said, pointing to projects such as Champlain Hudson, SunZia and TransWest Express.
The long-term expansion and extension of renewable energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act led to increased certainty that has flowed through to transmission development, according to Skelly.
“The easiest job in America right now is selling HVDC equipment,” he said.
So, to sum it up, Skelly sits on a federal committee that just recommended DOE prioritize giving money to just the kinds of transmission projects Skelly's new company is building.
You'd think there should be laws against that kind of corruption.
You'd think there should be laws against that kind of corruption.
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