The TransAmerica Generation Grid (TAGG) is a national transmission infrastructure solution, providing a high-capacity energy backbone to overcome the separation between the nation’s eastern and western AC grids. The insertion of up to 18,000 MW of low-priced and reliable power generated in the upper Midwest will meet growing inter-regional power needs. TAGG’s cross-country reach will enable it to serve multiple markets at different times to meet time zone, seasonal, and weather-related demand peaks. State-of-the-art energy management systems and fiber optic communications will enhance operational efficiency and revenue potential.

TAGG combines compelling cost and revenue features. Its value drivers include:

Fuel Cost Advantage: Abundant and stable in price, upper Midwest coal and lignite fuels are easily mined, resulting in the lowest extraction costs of any U.S. mining region. This area, encompassing North and South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, also offers unsurpassed potential for wind-generated power, according to the American Wind Energy Association

Capital Costs: Construction costs tend to be lower in rural rather than in urban areas.

Emission Credits: Urban areas tend to be the most difficult and costly in which to obtain the necessary air permits.

Summer Derating: Solid fueled power plants will not be subjected to the performance degradation associated with gas-fired simple and combined-cycle plants due to summer temperature and humidity conditions.

Transmission Congestion Relief: By providing a "transmission superhighway," TAGG will bypass existing transmission congestion, thereby reducing overall power costs.

On the revenue side, TAGG benefits from the following:

Urban Premium: Urban load centers typically experience higher energy prices than their rural counterparts. Interconnecting the upper Midwest with urban load pockets will permit optimization of new and existing generation assets.

Portfolio Value: TAGG serves multiple markets simultaneously, providing the unique ability to meet time-of-day, seasonal, geographic, and weather-related demand peaks.

Renewable Premiums: Many regions of the country are able to market power generated from renewable resources at premiums over conventional power sources.

Volatility Factor: The volatility of natural gas prices, and the cost of electricity generated by it, offers the opportunity to play the “spark spread.”