As energy demand grows, Indiana looks to advanced technologies
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Pew-hosted roundtable focuses on modernizing electric grid to ease backlog and benefit consumers.
This article was originally published by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Indiana’s energy landscape has transformed over the past decade, and the state is seeing significant growth in demand, largely driven by data centers, electrification, and increased domestic manufacturing. But the state’s aging electricity transmission system is increasingly congested and often operating near capacity. Because of that, there is a 2,600-gigawatt backlog of energy projects and storage capacity on a waiting list, called the interconnection queue, that cannot come on to the existing grid. Solving this challenge through traditional means is neither fast nor cheap: Building new high-voltage transmission lines can often take up to 10 years.
So, Indiana leaders and policymakers are increasingly looking for new ways to deliver power to customers efficiently and reliably. One potential near-term solution is advanced transmission technologies, which were the focus of the conversation during a March 4 roundtable convened by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Council of State Governments in Indianapolis.
ATTs are cost-effective hardware and software solutions that help squeeze more capacity out of the existing electric grid. They can be installed on power lines in as little as three months — far quicker than traditional transmission infrastructure.
In recent years, states across the country have pushed for policies that promote and incentivize the use of ATTs. This includes Indiana, where Senator Eric Koch (R) introduced legislation — which has since passed both chambers of the Legislature unanimously and was signed into law by the governor — that requires utilities to evaluate ATTs in the plans they file with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; the law also requires the IURC to study the potential benefits of ATTs for Indiana’s grid.
Sen. Koch provided opening remarks at the roundtable, where six lawmakers and the governor’s secretary of energy were among participants. Sen. Koch highlighted the urgent need to meet growing energy demand and plugged ATTs as a way to boost grid capacity.
The roundtable also featured presentations from LineVision — a company that is developing ATTs — and the power company AES Indiana. Those presentations included information on dynamic line rating, one type of ATT, which uses sensors deployed on transmission infrastructure that allow operators to adjust grid capacity based on weather conditions. DLR upgrades can be installed on existing power lines in under a year and could increase transmission capacity by up to 50%.
AES — in partnership with LineVision — has already deployed these technologies in several pilot locations across Ohio and Indiana. Initial analysis of the data from October 2023 to March 2024 has shown increases in power line capacity, and AES plans to continue studying the findings.
The convening provided an opportunity for lawmakers to ask questions and better understand the case for using these technologies, how they help to expand grid capacity, and how quickly they can be deployed.
Like many states, Indiana must act to both expand grid capacity and better guard against widespread power outages. By promoting the use of ATTs, state leaders are helping to prepare Indiana to meet its growing electricity needs.
Carter Harms is an officer and Zach Bartscherer is a senior officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ energy modernization project.