Commenter says DOE ended Midwest transmission loan program as battery storage expands, warns of higher transmission costs

An unidentified commenter at the meeting said the Department of Energy terminated a loan guarantee program for a proposed interregional transmission system in the Midwest and pointed to rapid growth in utility-scale battery storage as evidence that renewable energy can serve as baseload when paired with storage.

The commenter said the DOE action was a loan guarantee program termination and emphasized the timing: "the Department of Energy terminated a loan program for a major interregional transmission system in the Midwest. So here we are talking about how important transmission is, and here's, the, the Department of Energy," the commenter said. The speaker added that the DOE action "wasn't a grant. It was a loan guarantee program."

The commenter cited recent national battery-storage data and forecasts, saying, "The U.S. added a record 10.4 gigawatts of utility scale battery storage in 2024, marking a 66% increase from the prior year." The commenter added that the U.S. Energy Information Administration anticipates another 18 gigawatts in 2025 and that utility-scale battery storage is forecast to approach 65 gigawatts by 2026, saying, "the battery industry is no longer a fantasy or a distant dream. It's happening right now on a very substantial scale."

The speaker argued storage changes how planners should view renewables: "If you have adequate energy storage, solar and wind are baseload because you have something to make up the difference," the commenter said, citing Texas and California as places where storage has helped integrate wind and solar.

Turning to delivery costs, the commenter said transmission and distribution are taking on a larger share of consumers' electric bills. Using Maine as an example, the commenter said an electric bill there was once roughly 25 percent transmission and distribution and 75 percent energy supply; "It's now about 50/50," the commenter said. That shift, the speaker warned, means decisions about how to rebuild and expand transmission could add materially to ratepayers' costs: "My concern is it's going to be done in an expensive way that's going to add dramatically to ratepayers' costs." The commenter noted agreement from another meeting participant, saying, "Mister Grama, you're nodding."

No vote or formal action on transmission policy or projects was recorded in the meeting transcript. The remarks were part of a discussion about grid planning, storage and costs; the transcript does not show any direction to staff or formal motions arising from these comments.

Meeting context: the remarks were a short, substantive intervention that combined a reported federal program change, national data on battery storage, and a local-cost concern for ratepayers. The meeting transcript does not record subsequent staff assignments, funding decisions or legal requirements tied to these remarks.