• CERAWeek
  • March 18 - 22, 2024

James Hewett

Breakthrough Energy

Manager, Policy and Advocacy

James manages power sector advocacy as part of Breakthrough Energy’s U.S. Policy and Advocacy team. His work is focused on developing engagement and advocacy strategies for the organization’s power sector priorities. Prior to joining Breakthrough Energy, James served as Vice President of Renewable Energy at David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) working on corporate renewable energy policy, developing state-level policy campaigns, and advising on policy and advocacy strategies for foundations. While at DGA, James also served as Policy Director for Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG), a non-profit focused on expanding long-distance transmission and developing a macrogrid. Before joining DGA, James worked at the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) in a variety of positions ranging from government affairs to business development to program management. James has a B.S. from Texas A&M University and a M.S. from American University. 

Sessions With James Hewett

Thursday, 9 March

  • 07:15am - 08:20am (CST) / 09/mar/2023 01:15 pm - 09/mar/2023 02:20 pm

    Permitting & Transmission: The big challenge of connecting renewables
    Power & Renewables
    The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act solidifies both wind and solar as least-cost sources of new generating supply in the United States. At the same time, these resources tend to be in different locations than existing legacy infrastructure, making transmission increasingly important to integrate renewables onto the grid and ensure a reliable, affordable electricity system. New transmission development is often slowed down by complex planning and permitting processes, cost allocation issues and legal challenges—with long interconnection queues and network upgrade costs delaying many new wind and solar resources from coming online. What opportunities and barriers are there to increasing transmission capacity in existing rights of way? What solutions are available to facilitate new transmission development? What are the roles of policymakers versus the private sector?
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