Lara Williams, Columnist

In Defense of Pylons, Magnets for NIMBY Ire

Even author Rudyard Kipling had a beef with them. But they’re here to stay, and we need more transmission towers to support our energy needs.

March 21, 2024 at 5:00 AM UTC

By Lara Williams

Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change.

An electricity pylon near Sudbury, UK, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. The energy price cap level, set by regulator Ofgem, is expected to ease slightly from October but to rise again in January, according to estimates from Cornwall Insights.
Photographer: Bloomberg

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Monuments to modern life, these structures help carry an essential resource safely across thousands of miles. Nations everywhere are going to need more of them as climate mitigation becomes more urgent. But there’s a problem.

Everybody seems to hate pylons.