DeepSummary
The podcast episode features an interview with Shashank Sane, the Executive Vice President for Transmission at Invenergy, a leading renewable energy company. Shashank discusses his journey to Invenergy, starting in finance and eventually transitioning to the operational side, focusing on large-scale transmission projects. He explains the critical importance of transmission infrastructure in enabling the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Shashank highlights the need for improved transmission capacity, as the U.S. Department of Energy estimates a 50% increase is required by 2035. He delves into the challenges of developing interstate transmission projects, including the lack of federal oversight and the need for approval from multiple state regulators. Shashank uses the example of Invenergy's Grain Belt Express project, which aims to connect wind resources in Kansas to demand centers like Chicago, to illustrate the complexities and benefits of such projects.
Shashank emphasizes the value of interregional transmission lines in enhancing grid resilience and reliability, allowing for the sharing of energy during extreme weather events. He stresses the need for recognition at the federal and local levels of the importance of these projects in enabling a more interconnected, resilient, and sustainable energy grid.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Transmission infrastructure is critical for enabling the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
- The U.S. Department of Energy estimates a 50% increase in transmission capacity is needed by 2035 to meet energy demands and facilitate the transition to renewable energy.
- Developing large-scale interstate transmission projects is challenging due to the lack of federal oversight and the need for approval from multiple state regulators.
- Interregional transmission lines can enhance grid resilience and reliability by allowing the sharing of energy during extreme weather events or supply shortages.
- There is a lack of recognition and understanding of the value that interregional transmission lines can provide in enabling a more interconnected, resilient, and sustainable energy grid.
- Engaging with local communities, addressing landowner concerns, and demonstrating the local benefits of transmission projects are crucial for successful project development.
- Companies like Invenergy are taking a lead in developing large-scale transmission projects to facilitate the growth of renewable energy and a more interconnected grid.
- Federal policy and regulatory support are needed to drive the recognition of the importance of interregional transmission lines and facilitate their development.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “As we think about these projects, it is with many different lenses in mind, from the individual landowner to the state to what does this mean from a national energy policy perspective?“ by Shashank Sane
- “The need for transmission in this country is huge. But the need for interregional transmission and a way to recognize the value of that is what is going to drive the most value.“ by Shashank Sane
- “In the absence of a national electric grid, we got to figure out who's going to build that. And hopefully at invenergy, we're going to be right at the forefront of it.“ by Shashank Sane
- “Whether really is non existent right now is a recognition of the need to build these inter regional lines, of which green belt is a prime example. And not only is there a lack of recognition of the need, there is a lack of recognition of the value that that's going to bring to the system.“ by Shashank Sane
- “We want to be viewed as partners. We want to be constructive in terms of how we cite the lines and how we work with landowners to accommodate individual kind of restrictions on their land.“ by Shashank Sane
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Episode Information
My Climate Journey
Jason Jacobs, Cody Simms, Yin Lu
12/4/23
Shashank Sane is the Executive Vice President for Transmission at Invenergy.
Invenergy is North America's largest, privately held renewable power generation company. They have developed more than 200 power generation projects around the world and are responsible for more than 31 gigawatts of power on four continents, with the majority of that being renewable energy projects, including wind and solar.
In his role as EVP of Transmission, Shashank is responsible for the company's efforts to create connectivity between solar and wind farms and end customers, and he's particularly focused on large-scale interstate transmission projects. Transmission is a topic that climate and energy experts will say is critically important. Our transmission infrastructure in the US has been built over more than a century. And yet, the Department of Energy recently estimated that the US needs to increase our transmission capacity by over 50% by the year 2035. That's a monumental jump. We're grateful to Shashank for volunteering to come on the pod and talk with us about transmission, how it works, why it's needed, and how projects get done.
In this episode, we cover:
- [02:22]: Shashank's journey to Invenergy
- [04:46]: His early experience at the company, Invenergy Edge, and acquiring Grain Belt Express
- [08:11]: Shashank's experience at Lehman Brothers in 2008
- [10:05]: Overview of Invenergy's approach to developing projects
- [13:51]: Definition of "transmission"
- [22:21]: Why more transmission is needed to enable renewable growth
- [26:40]: Transmission issues in the U.S. and the need to improve grid resilience
- [35:04]: The lack of federal oversight of the national grid
- [37:02]: Modifying the Grain Belt Express project to better serve Missouri
- [46:49]: Other major transmission projects Invenergy is developing
- [48:24]: Working with community and landowners before routing transmission lines
- [52:23]: The need to recognize the value of inter-regional transmission
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