As I’ve been saying forever, there’s a lot of generation planned, and if even a small portion of this generation comes on line, there’s no need for new transmission that they want:

CLICK HERE: PJM’S RTEP (Regional Transmission Expansion Plan)

And look at what’s in the PJM Queue:

PJM GENERATION QUEUE

Why am I thinking about this? Because it seems the industry has discovered the obvious. Much of the transmission proposed is not needed. This acknowledges that much of the transmission proposed in PJM’s RTEP is not needed. Well, DUH! From the inbox today, second hand:

From: service [at] energycentral.com
Subject: Offshore Wind Riding a Wave
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:29:00 -0700

Bill Opalka Editor-in-Chief Energy Central Topic Newsletters

While T. Boone Pickens has garnered much attention in recent months
with his well-publicized plan to create a massive infrastructure
for wind energy production in America’s heartland, offshore wind
energy is getting more attention in the heavily populated Northeast.

For its part, the Pickens Plan would require billions in transmission
lines needed to bring electricity from the wind-rich regions of the
central United States to population centers nearer to the coasts.
As for offshore wind — while by no means cheap — it would eliminate
the need to build transmission lines over hundreds,
if not thousands of miles inland.

According to the Department of Energy, the net incremental cost of
a project like the Pickens Plan would be $43 billion, enough to bring
wind energy to supply 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030.

The coastal Northeast that runs from Massachusetts to North Carolina
could contain up to 330,000 megawatts of average electrical capacity,
according to a study from the University of Delaware.
This is a third of the Department of Energy’s estimate of the total
American offshore resource of 900,000 megawatts. There are about a
dozen projects overall proposed for this region.
The potential for projects exists nationwide.

With rapid progress made in several states, 2008 might be later
looked upon as the time when several projects took massive leaps
forward, after a slow and painful process slowed or even stymied
previous offshore wind projects. It is true that regulations for
permitting and siting projects are still being developed by the
Mineral Management Service. Cape Wind, at seven years old the
longest-running proposal and seen as the template for such
regulations, made some incremental progress. But several other
projects took important steps when states chose developers or
long-term power purchase agreements were negotiated between
wind developers and incumbent utilities.

After price shocks hit the state following electricity deregulation,
the Delaware General Assembly passed a law calling for the state to
generate more of its electricity. The Public Service Commission
solicited proposals from all electricity resources. The Bluewater
Wind Park proposal described a 200-turbine, 600-megawatt,
$1.5 billion offshore wind farm. In May 2007 the Public Service
Commission unanimously selected the Bluewater and ordered Delmarva
Power to negotiate a contract. Delmarva argued that offshore wind
would raise the average electric bill by $20 or more a month.
But by last summer the companies signed a power purchase agreement
with Bluewater Wind to build a scaled-down, 200-megawatt wind farm
off the coast.

Off the coast of Rhode Island, meanwhile, Deepwater Wind has
proposed a $1.5 billion project that would erect more than 100
wind turbines. The state picked the developer from seven bidders
following requests for proposals that were sought last spring.
Rhode Island expects the wind farm to provide about 15 percent
of the state’s electricity, generating about 1.3 million
megawatt-hours a year. The location has not been determined and
Deepwater has committed to building manufacturing facilities for
the project in Rhode Island. A formal development agreement is
expected to be completed by year’s end.

And Regulators in New Jersey in September awarded rights to build
a huge offshore wind farm in the southern part of the state.
The selection is part of the state’s Energy Master Plan, which
mandates 20 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewable
sources by 2020. The proposal by Garden State Offshore Energy
includes installing 96 turbines to produce as much as 346 megawatts.
The project, which would cost more than $1 billion, is between
16 and 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey. It would not start
producing electricity until 2013. Permitting from federal and
state agencies is the next step for Garden State Offshore Energy.

As for Massachusetts, Cape Wind Associates first proposed a wind
farm for Nantucket Sound seven years ago. But it has been mired
in controversy ever since. The 130 turbines are expected to
generate an average of 170 megawatts of electricity.
State regulatory agencies have weighed in, although the pathway
to successful completion is anything but assured. A final federal
assessment of the project’s environmental impact is expected
by the end of the year. There are also a number of lawsuits
surrounding the project that have yet to be decided.

Finally, the Long Island Power Authority is preparing to explore
wind power again, just a year after its previous attempt was
dropped due to high costs. This proposal would be lower in cost
and less visible, two objections the previous foray couldn’t
survive. LIPA in September said it would join with utility Con
Edison to study the prospect of a 300-megawatt wind farm 10 miles
off the coast of Queens. LIPA and Con Edison would split the
costs and divide energy from the project.

Building power-related facilities has always been contentious
and expensive. Off-shore wind farms are no different. But they
have the potential supply enormous of power and to avoid endless
miles of transmission lines on land. Several states think that a
worthy goal.

Are the utilities paying attention? Are the Public Service Commissioners across the county weighing transmission applications paying attention?