The US currently has a major clean energy problem: There is more electricity from solar power alone waiting to get on the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. To combat the climate crisis and increase the amount of cheap energy from clean sources like wind and solar, the US needs more modern high-voltage transmission lines.
And it’s coming at a critical time; while electricity demand in the US has remained relatively flat over the past few decades, it is set to spike in the coming years due to the dramatic rise in data centers and AI, as well as demand from electric vehicles.
In lieu of action from Congress, the Biden administration has tried to spur action on its own. It’s launched other grid initiatives, working with states and private companies in an effort to upgrade 100,000 miles of existing transmission lines so they’ll be able to carry more power using so-called reconductoring – swapping high-voltage lines, which carry more electrical capacity, onto already existing towers.
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The US currently has a major clean energy problem: There is more electricity from solar power alone waiting to get on the grid than the entire amount of energy currently on the grid. To combat the climate crisis and increase the amount of cheap energy from clean sources like wind and solar, the US needs more modern high-voltage transmission lines.
And it’s coming at a critical time; while electricity demand in the US has remained relatively flat over the past few decades, it is set to spike in the coming years due to the dramatic rise in data centers and AI, as well as demand from electric vehicles.
In lieu of action from Congress, the Biden administration has tried to spur action on its own. It’s launched other grid initiatives, working with states and private companies in an effort to upgrade 100,000 miles of existing transmission lines so they’ll be able to carry more power using so-called reconductoring – swapping high-voltage lines, which carry more electrical capacity, onto already existing towers.