The Jetstream Initiative: Explanation of Solution

“Electricity—not oil—is the heart of the U.S. energy economy. Power plants consume as much raw energy as oil delivers to all our cars, trucks, planes, homes, factories, offices, and chemical plants. Because big power plants operate very efficiently, they also deliver much more useful power than car engines and small furnaces.

Electricity is comparatively cheap, we have abundant supplies and reliable access to the fuels we use to generate it, and the development of wind, solar, and other renewables will only expand our homegrown options. Our capital-intensive, technology-rich electrical infrastructure also keeps getting smarter and more efficient. With electricity, America controls its own destiny.” [5]

 — Peter W. Huber, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
  

THE JETSTREAM INITIATIVE

The Jetstream Initiative proposes to initiate a national grid of Extra High Voltage (EHV) transmission lines integrating wind turbine power generators arrayed along the same easement pathways.

This integrated system based on intellectual property owned by Jetstream Wind Inc., allows power generation within transmission lines providing a method for transmission expansion without incurring considerable costs. By including power generators at regular intervals within the transmission easements, every part of the system becomes a profit center rather than a cost center.

Each leg of the system will be built, financed and managed using a consistent franchising standard. The resulting power will be marketed through a standard wholesale interface that will link and balance sources and loads nationwide. This will result in a nationwide, consistent, single source, wholesale market for bulk electrical power. The massive scale and profitability of the initiative will have an immediate stimulating effect on the national economy.

Each leg of the system will be bid out as a separate franchise, so that many local enterprises can participate as developers and operators, both public and private. Federal loan guarantees can expedite financing as needed. As the grid grows and the linkage between sources and consumers becomes more complete, the wholesale market for the output will become more uniform. The routing for the various legs will be determined and coordinated to meet national strategic priorities rather than local concerns. Because each leg will use federal easements, the approval process prior to construction can be expedited even before the bid process is complete.

It is proposed that the Federal Electric Regulator Commission (FERC) will administer and enforce the franchise standards and the wholesale interface. Administration costs will be covered by franchise fees collectable from operating profits. The wholesale customers for this power will be the regional transmission organizations (RTO) envisaged in FERC directive 888.

The grid will integrate computerized control and monitoring systems. Each wind turbine, each node of the grid and each connection between the national grid and the local grid will incorporate load monitoring sensors and remotely controlled switches connected to an automated network. These information sources and controls will be integrated into a computerized smart model. This allows for intelligent load distribution and routing across the entire nation so that peaks and valleys are balanced within a single system.

In effect we will have a wind farm that spans the continent so that some part of it will be producing power at any given time. This makes demand response mechanisms obsolete and prevents blackouts. It also insures that the most efficient sources of energy can operate at full capacity and the less efficient sources of energy can be retired.

Standard metering of transmission and power generation will make performance based compensation of the franchise holders a fair and automatic function. Franchise holders will be automatically motivated to increase operating efficiency as the primary way to increase profit. Automatic monitoring will also amortize maintenance as an operating expense across regions so that the incentive to defer maintenance to increase profits will be eliminated. It is recommended that maintenance contracts be bid out to third parties on a regional basis.

When fully implemented, the wind turbine power generation embedded within the system will increase the national capacity by 20%. The entire grid will be interconnected with smart monitoring and switching so that proper load balancing nationwide will further expand the effective capacity of the national grid to include all energy sources. The grid will provide wholesale access to remote areas, thus encouraging the creation of new power sources of all types.

Excess capacity will allow for the retirement of existing obsolete or poorly sited power plants. Further excess capacity can be directed to meet the needs of the emerging electric car. GM plans to introduce the Chevy Volt in 2010. Further excess capacity can be directed to the production and storage of hydrogen as a clean fuel and power source.

The use of renewable energy technology in the grid will displace 97 million metric tons (MT) of CO₂ per year, and almost 3 billion tons over thirty years. It will decrease our national dependency on hydrocarbons for energy production.

All of this should have the effect of lowering electric cost to the business and private consumer. This will automatically stimulate business activity of all types. The national scope and scale of the enterprise insures that the benefits will reach all geographic areas. This initiative can result in the creation of 6 to 7 million jobs in the US within the next 7 years either directly, indirectly or by induction. [2]
  

Proposed national transmission grid:

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, National Transmission Grid Study, 2002. [6]

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