At the time it was proposed way back in 2005, the TransWest Express Transmission Project seemed like a straightforward idea — bring renewable energy from Wyoming, then (and now) one of the country’s biggest producers of wind power, to help meet increasing customer demand for electricity in the Desert Southwest. And enabling renewable energy to get to market would seem to align with political trade winds. But while the project’s goals couldn’t have been clearer, its 18-year path to final approval illustrates the numerous hurdles faced by long-distance energy projects and the need for change if progress is to be made toward energy goals. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at TransWest’s long road to approval, the difficulties in getting new energy infrastructure built and the long-term repercussions of those delays, and some permitting-reform proposals that might shorten project timelines.
As we outlined in Part 1 of this series, permitting for infrastructure projects — from oil and gas pipelines to transmission lines and offshore wind farms — is a well-known problem with many contributing factors but no easy solutions. Almost everyone acknowledges the benefit of having interested parties and stakeholders weigh in on major proposals to build or expand energy infrastructure, and credible regulations and appropriate safeguards are essential. Still, the reality is that the permitting process for some important projects can drag on for years and prevent others from ever becoming a reality. We looked in detail at Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), the current poster child for permitting challenges, which still faces an uncertain future even though the company says construction is more than 90% complete. (See our weekly NATGAS Appalachia report for the latest on MVP.)
The RBN NATGAS Haynesville is a weekly natural gas fundamentals analysis focused on supply, flow, and LNG-driven demand dynamics within the Haynesville basin.
Let’s start with a quick look at how the U.S. power grid was set up and how that differs from what we’ll need in the future, something the TransWest project was designed to address. Most of today’s grid was built in the 1960s and ’70s and designed to bring electricity generated by fossil-fired power plants, big hydroelectric facilities and nuclear stations to the areas that need energy. That approach has served the U.S. exceedingly well over the decades, but in recent years there’s been a big push to make renewable energy — mostly wind and solar — a much bigger part of the U.S. generation mix. And because many of the country’s best sites for large-scale wind and solar projects are far from population centers, that means more long-distance transmission lines will be required to move that power to where it’s needed.
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About the song
“Don’t Pass Me By” was written by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) and appears as the sixth song on The Beatles’ ninth studio album, The Beatles (White Album). Starr wrote the song shortly after he joined The Beatles in August 1962. He said it was the first song he wrote, “while sitting round at home, fiddling with the piano.” He wrote two songs for The Beatles, “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden,” and co-wrote “What Goes On” and “Flying.” Keith Richards once commented to Paul McCartney that the difference between their groups was that The Stones had one front man, while The Beatles had four. “Don’t Pass Me By” was recorded during June and July 1968 at Abbey Road in London. It was released as a single in Scandinavia in April 1969 and went to #1 in Denmark. Personnel on the record were: Ringo Starr (vocals, drums, percussion, tack piano), Paul McCartney (grand piano, bass), and Jack Fallon (fiddle). Both pianos on the song were recorded into a Leslie 147 speaker.
The Beatles (White Album) was recorded between May and October 1968 at Abbey Road and Trident in London with George Martin producing. Nineteen of the LP’s 30 songs were written during March-April 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation retreat that the band attended in Rishikesh, India. The double album was released in November 1968 and went to #7 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified 24x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The original release of the album had The Beatles name embossed on the front cover and were numbered. No singles were released from the LP but “Hey Jude” backed with “Revolution” originated from the same sessions and were issued as a single in August 1968. It went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool, England, in 1960. The band, with members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, went on to change pop culture and are considered by many to be the most influential band of all time. They have released 21 studio albums, six live albums, 36 EPs, 54 compilation albums, and 63 singles. All of the band are Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and have received one Academy Award, Seven Grammy Awards, and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. They are the best-selling band in history, having sold more than 600 million records worldwide. All band members went on to successful solo careers after the breakup of The Beatles in 1970. John Lennon was assassinated in December 1980, George Harrison died in November 2001. Both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr continue to record and tour as solo artists.
