The Obama Administration will announce a road map to
modernize the nation's energy infrastructure on Tuesday in Philadelphia, where
an aging system of pipes, wires, rails and waterways is struggling to adapt to
a dramatically shifting energy environment.
A delegation headed by Vice President Joe Biden is
scheduled to visit Philadelphia Tuesday afternoon to unveil the initial
installment of the first-ever Quadrennial Energy Review, which focuses on how
to transform the nation's energy transmission, storage, and distribution
infrastructure.
Biden, joined by Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren, will
announce the results of the review at the Market Street headquarters of Peco
Energy Co., the regional utility that received a $200 million stimulus grant in
2009 to help finance the modernization of its electricity delivery system.
Obama launched the review in a January 2014 memorandum
that stated the nation's aging infrastructure is increasingly challenged by
transformations in energy supply, markets and patterns of end use, combined
with the impacts of climate change and cyber and physical threats.
"Any vulnerability in this infrastructure may be
exacerbated by the increasing interdependencies of energy systems with water,
telecommunications, transportation, and emergency response systems," the
memorandum stated.
According to an administration fact sheet issued Tuesday,
the review identifies opportunities the delivery systems can provide for a
clean and secure energy future, as well as some potential vulnerabilities. It
also proposes policy recommendations and investments to protect, expand and
modernize infrastructure.
The federal review comes amid a boom in domestic oil and
gas production from hydraulically fractured shale formations, which has shifted
the U.S. energy policy debate from worries about scarcity to how much and what
kinds of U.S. energy should be exported. That debate is taking place amid a
ongoing political struggle over the role the United States should play in
addressing global climate change.
Philadelphia, where the city-owned gas utility is facing
increasing regulatory pressure to replace its crumbling distribution system, is
a showcase for both old and new systems.
Industrial and political leaders are currently debating
ways to promote the region as an energy hub for fossil fuels produced from
Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale, which in five years has become the nation's
most prolific source of natural gas.
Delaware River refineries that formerly processed
imported oil are being retooled to refine domestic oil delivered from the
Midwest by rail, or repurposed to serve as export terminals for Marcellus Shale
natural gas liquids delivered here by pipelines. But the operators of the
expanding systems of pipelines and oil trains face increasing public
apprehension and resistance.
The federal review initially focused on transmission,
storage and delivery systems because the longevity and high costs of energy
infrastructure will strongly influence the nation's energy mix for decades to
come. In subsequent years, the review process will focus on supply and end-use
infrastructure, as well as supply chains, according to the administration.
The Department of Energy coordinated the quadrennial
review. A series of meetings were conducted across the country last year, each
focusing on specific aspects of energy infrastructure.
Biden on Tuesday is also set to unveil two executive
actions to modernize the electric grid.
The energy department is announcing a Partnership for
Energy Sector Climate Resilience with 17 utility chief executives to explore
ways to harden electricity systems to extreme weather events.
And the US Department of Agriculture is announcing $72
million to support six new rural electric infrastructure projects including
major investments to drive solar energy.
Source: Philly.com
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