Transmission and Non-Wires Alternatives: Striking the Right Balance

NWAs as a flexible and cost-efficient means of integrating renewables, and the implications for conventional transmission investment

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) can provide cost-effective, scalable and rapidly deployed solutions, which can mitigate or even avoid the need for large capital investments in conventional distribution and transmission infrastructure. These non-wires alternatives (NWAs) remain relatively new in Canada, and face barriers to wide-scale deployment, but are attractive given the growing hurdles faced by major infrastructure projects. While transmission was once the main enabler of deployment for renewables, NWAs are poised to assume a bigger role in this regard, and this session will explore the emerging balance between the two and its implications.