Advanced Energy United Applauds Western Governors’ Support for Regional Energy Cooperation

DEER VALLEY, UTAH – Today, a year-long initiative focused on Western energy issues comes to a close with the release of a new report from the Western Governors’ Association. The report is a product of Governor Spencer Cox’s Chair’s Initiative, “Energy Superabundance: Unlocking Prosperity in the West.” The Initiative held a series of workshops and conversations throughout the region over the past year, looking at actionable ways to improve the ability of the West to build the energy infrastructure needed to power its future. The final report contains several concrete recommendations, including support for state-led efforts to improve long-term regional transmission planning, a call for Federal action and guidance on the role of advanced transmission technologies and distributed resources on the grid, examples of innovative transmission financing structures, and a call for resource-agnostic federal permitting.

“Advanced Energy United is proud to have supported the development of this report and is pleased that it includes many actionable recommendations to improve how we build new transmission and other energy infrastructure as well as make better use of the infrastructure we already have,” said Leah Rubin Shen, managing director at Advanced Energy United. “We look forward to working with Western governors and stakeholders across the region to move these recommendations forward and power a secure, clean, and affordable energy future for the West.” 

Western governors also announced an agreement supporting the multi-stakeholder transmission planning led by the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition (WestTEC) and forming a collaborative cross-state permitting task force to facilitate building transmission in the West.  

“We are delighted to see Western governors recognizing the importance of collaborating on building transmission, particularly the larger regional lines that cross multiple states,” Rubin Shen added. “We appreciate Western governors’ leadership in bringing the region together on this important issue.” 

The report can be found on the Western Governors’ Association website here.