Wind power pushes Congress to tackle grid issue

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The push to boost U.S. electric generation from wind and other renewable energy sources is forcing U.S. lawmakers to address the contentious issue of whether states or the federal government should have final authority to site new power lines, industry officials said on Friday.

Denise Bode, head of the American Wind Energy Association, said national oversight of transmission development is critical to exploit the country's abundant wind energy resources.

Thousands of miles of new high-voltage lines will be needed to move electric generation from the windiest regions in the center of the country to power-hungry cities.

"We need a national transmission policy," Bode said at the Gulf Coast Power Association conference on Friday.

She expressed optimism the issue can be resolved with legislation in the current Congress which is looking at economic and other measures to encourage renewable power to lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil and to create jobs.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission additional authority to oversee some transmission siting questions, but stopped short of giving the agency broad siting and planning responsibility.

Most power-line siting issues are handled by state regulators.

"The issue has matured" since that time, said Bode.

Pat Wood, former FERC chairman, said the agency is well-equipped to handle the task, given its experience regulating the nation's vast interstate natural gas pipeline system.