Before the U.S. Can Have Clean Power, It Needs More Power Lines
The country’s electrical grid isn’t built to carry energy from remote solar and wind farms to populated cities.
Wind turbines generate electricity near power poles and transmission lines at the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm near Palm Springs, California.
Photographer: Robert Alexander/Getty ImagesThe U.S.’s Great Plains and desert Southwest have sweeping winds, abundant sunshine, and, crucially, not many people. Low population means lots of unoccupied land and very few buildings to block the breeze or throw shade, making them ideal for the production of renewable energy.
This presents a problem: because there are so few people nearby to consume the power generated by remote wind and solar facilities, energy has to travel a long way to reach customers, and the U.S. doesn’t have enough transmission lines to handle it all. Now, as the U.S. federal government again contemplates whether and how much to invest in its moribund energy infrastructure as part of its plans to stimulate the coronavirus-battered economy, renewable advocates from inside and outside the industry alike are attempting to push power lines to the top of the priority list.