Star-Tribune Editorial Board

The United States is finally including renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, as an important component of its long-term national energy strategy.

But developing those resources isn't going to be effective unless an adequate number of new electrical transmission lines are built. Unfortunately, that probably won't happen unless Congress establishes a federal siting authority for the lines similar to the authority held by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for interstate natural gas pipelines.

Since 2000, FERC has approved more than 10,000 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines. During the same period, only 970 miles of interstate electricity lines have been built.

During the recent Western Governors' Association meeting in Jackson, utility company officials pressed their case for regulatory cooperation from state and federal governments so more electricity transmission lines can be constructed. It's a good case, and one that the governors appeared to acknowledge.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, the new WGA president, noted, "If we're going to take this whole energy piece on the renewable side seriously … we've got to get the transmission and infrastructure piece right."

When coupled with the lack of a federal siting authority, the fact that the transmission lines must cross state lines is a huge barrier. There's little incentive for states that aren't on the receiving end of the electricity to cooperate with the endeavor, other than for the greater good of the nation.

Jeff Sterba, CEO of the New Mexico-based PNM Resources, suggested to the governors that utilities could assess the overall benefit of a new project, rather than simply assess its costs. Once the benefit is identified for the region as a whole, he said, the utilities could work to share some of the benefit with the areas that allow the transmission lines to cross their borders. It's a worthwhile idea to explore.

Investment in transmission is key to a clean and reliable U.S. electricity supply. At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last month, American Wind Energy Association officials noted the current regulatory structure for transmission is not well suited to the energy challenges of the future.

Donald Furman of Iberdola Renewables, the second largest wind energy generator in the nation, noted, "It is imperative that Congress remove barriers to help meet our national goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing our national energy security, providing consumers with reasonably priced electricity, and growing the economy."

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 recognized the U.S. needs to enhance and increase the coordination and communication among federal agencies with authority to site electricity transmission facilities. A memorandum of understanding outlining the siting process and ways to share data was signed by 12 federal agencies a year later. It was a good initial step.

But what's really needed is a single federal siting authority for electricity transmission that can expedite the process. Anything less than that won't be able to ensure there will be enough transmission capacity available once renewable energy resources are capable of providing a substantial portion of our nation's energy needs.