Collaborative Research: Investigation of Electric Transmission Line Routing Using a Decision Landscape Methodology

最近发生在美国东北部的大停电事件凸显了提高美国电力传输能力的必要性。虽然其中一些增长将来自增加现有系统容量的新技术，但有些将不得不来自增加新线路。新线路建设的主要制约因素之一是线路布线困难。美国能源部的《国家输电网研究报告》指出，改进布线过程对国家电力系统的可靠性和安全性是必要的，并进一步指出，加强公众参与，包括有效地展示替代方案，是这一过程的重要组成部分。该项目将修改和升级地理信息系统（GIS）决策支持方法，该方法已在肯塔基州的高速公路路线规划项目中成功演示，以改进输电线路的路线规划过程。该方法是肯塔基州交通中心设计的用于结构化公众参与（SPI）协议的套件之一。虽然地理信息系统已经在输电线路布线中使用，但该小组提出了一种新的方法，该方法深化了地理信息系统的分析作用，并允许所有感兴趣的各方参与路线规划。该过程超越了现有规则，允许专业人员征求、收集、记录和合并所有利益相关者的输入，从而提高了过程的透明度和公众和专业人员的满意度。肯塔基大学和亚利桑那大学将执行SPI和GIS部分的研究，继续在这些领域进行正在进行的工作。威奇托州立大学将提供工程专业知识，包括实际的线路设计，与线路路由相关的景观特征，以及将设计过程和其他技术问题（如拥堵缓解）整合到新过程中。新流程开发完成后，将成为华盛顿州立大学和英国大学新开设的本科课程的一部分。本课程将整合输电线布线的各个方面，包括环境问题、许可、成本、融资等。然后，课堂上的学生将参与路由过程，代表实际路由过程中涉及的各方。该团队设计的结构化公众参与协议在交通问题上向服务不足的人群伸出援手方面证明了其效率。由于电子投票和地理信息系统/可视化系统非常便于携带，因此将以一系列农村和/或低收入/少数人选区的参与为目标。将与当地利益相关者合作选择当地社区场地，并就焦点小组会议的方便时间进行谈判。服务不足和非精英人口的环境评价系统将直接纳入决策引擎。在目前被认为不透明和对他们的关切没有反应的进程中，服务不足的人口将更多地感受到一种包容感。电力供应对国家经济来说是超临界的，因为所有其他关键基础设施都依赖于它。与此同时，社会对公共基础设施决策的信任和信心也至关重要，因为没有它，额外基础设施的提供就会面临风险。由于其合作起源，该项目为社会提供了罕见的利益组合，因为它试图克服长期存在的讽刺二分法，即作为电力消费者的社会自我表达的利益与电力行业试图代表社会灌输这种欲望之间的矛盾。

The recent blackout in the northeast US underscores the need to increase the electric transmission capacity of the US. While some of that increase will come from new technologies that increase the capacity of the existing system, some will have to come from the addition of new lines. One of the main constraints to new line construction is the difficulty in routing the lines. The US Department of Energy's National Transmission Grid Study cites improvements in the routing process as necessary for the reliability and security of the nation's electric power system, and further cites enhanced public involvement, including effective presentation of alternatives, to be an important part of the process. This project will modify and upgrade a Geographic Information System (GIS) Decision Support methodology, successfully demonstrated on a highway routing project in Kentucky, to improve the electric transmission line routing process. This methodology is one of a suite developed for use within the Structured Public Involvement (SPI) protocols designed by the Kentucky Transportation Center. While GIS is already employed in transmission line routing, the team proposes a new methodology that deepens the analytic role of GIS and allows all interested parties to participate in route planning. The process goes beyond existing rules to allow professionals to solicit, gather, document, and incorporate input from all stakeholders, improving process transparency and satisfaction for both the public and professionals. University of Kentucky and University of Arizona will perform the SPI and GIS portions of the research, continuing ongoing work in these areas. Wichita State will provide the engineering expertise, including the actual line design, the landscape features relevant to line routing, and integrating the design process and other technical issues, such as congestion relief, into the new process. After the new process is developed, it will become part of new undergraduate classes at WSU and UK. This class will integrate for students all the various aspects of transmission line routing, including environmental issues, permitting, costs, financing, and others. Students in the class will then participate in the routing process, representing the various parties that would be involved in an actual routing process. The structured public involvement protocol designed by the team has demonstrated its efficiency in terms of reaching out to under-served populations in transportation questions. Because the electronic polling and GIS/visualization systems are highly portable, involvement of a range of rural and/or low-income/minority constituencies will be targeted. Local community venues will be selected in collaboration with local stakeholders and convenient times will be negotiated for focus group meetings. The environmental valuation system of the underserved and non-elite populations will be incorporated directly into the decision engine. The under-served populations will feel more of a sense of inclusion in processes currently believed to be opaque and unresponsive to their concerns. The electric power supply is supercritical to the nation's economy in the sense that all other critical infrastructure relies on it. At the same moment, societal trust and confidence in public infrastructure decision-making is also critical, because without it the provision of additional infrastructure is at risk. This project offers a rare combination of benefits to society, due to its collaborative origins, as it seeks to overcome a long-standing and ironic dichotomy between the self-expressed interests of society as a consumer of electricity, and the electric industry's attempt to impute that desire on behalf of society.