Image: GARY ALPHONSO
A stiff wind blows year-round in North Dakota. In Arizona the sun beats down virtually every day. The U.S. has vast quantities of renewable electricity sources waiting to be tapped in these regions, but what it does not have there are power lines—big power lines that can carry the bountiful energy to distant cities and industries where it is needed.
The same is true beyond the windswept high plains and the sun-baked Mojave Desert: renewable supply and electricity demand are seldom in the same place, and too often the transmission lines needed to connect them are missing. The disparity exists even in New England, where hundreds of miles of high-tension wires supported by thousands of steel towers run neatly through dense areas of settlement. When Gordon Van Wiele, chief executive of ISO New England—in charge of transmission in the six-state region—unfurls a map of the land there, large ovals show the location of the best wind sites: Vermont near the Quebec border and eastern Maine spilling over into New Brunswick. But sure enough, no transmission lines transect them.
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17 Comments
Add CommentThis is THE most important single infrastructure project that is needed in this country and would be the the most cost effective investment in the future. This needs to be done last week.There is no excuse for further delay, as no new technology needs to be developed. Every thing needed has been in use for over 20 years.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor once the D.O.E. should do what they were created for 30 years ago. Set up and run an high energy interstate electric grid and let the local utilities wheel power in and out as needed. This is the only way renewables can replace fueled electric power generators. This was known back when Tesla and Westinghouse were replacing local DC with AC power grids over 100 years ago.
This sounds like another article written by those hoping to make money off of building this stuff. The whole thing is based on the assumption of continually increasing electricity demand, which is not necessarily true at all. Since the power scam California suffered through back in 2000-2001, demand for electricity has been dropping in California. Per Capita demand is now half of what it is in the rest of the country so obviously there is a huge amount of room for improvement without going to extremes in building new systems.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCreating new linkages to places where proven wind systems can be put obviously makes sense. But the claim that when these are installed, additional conventional systems will also need to be added is again based on wanting power demand to grow when conservation methods are clearly more cost effective.
But putting a huge system to connect to the Arizona desert when there is no cost effective electricity-generating system to put there (nor will be barring a scientific breakthrough) makes no sense at all.
I am all for doing research into all sorts of alternate energy systems, even those which seem unlikely to pay off, but building large, expensive systems which may never be useful when lower cost alternatives exist sounds like a taxpayer-funded boondoggle to me.
Good article. If you want a simple primer, I wrote a quick blog on the basics of the Smart Grid last week.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://blog.mapawatt.com/2009/03/27/smart-grid/
It makes no sense that we are still using basically the same transmission technology we've used for decades. Efficiency has improved in all other areas, why not electricity transmission?
One might wonder why wind and solar energy proponents only think of remote locations for windmills and solar collectors. Is it really because wind only blows and sun only shines in remote locations? Possibly it could be because there is a "not in my back yard" mentality at work. While I believe these technologies hold promise, I am concerned that the wild remote places left will be uglified by wind mills and solar collectors. Why do tha solar collectors have to be in the Mohave desert? Why not on all of the rooftops in Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc. There should be plenty of transmission lines available there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat happened to the concept of a superconducting transmission line for the hydrogen economy mentioned on your pages a few years ago? With that concept, renewables such as solar and wind, by producing liquid hydrogen for cooling and reserve power, would also integrate the intermittent nature of renewable energy production and provide peak power capacity . A great idea-- what happened to it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Whether a better grid would be considered an infrastructure investment worthy of stimulus spending by the Obama administration is not clear; the work would not produce legions of jobs and would create economic benefits only slowly."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe lgions of jobs associated with wind power, solar etc will not come to pass without the sort of grid upgrades described in this article. Of course it is an infrastructure investment and at $60 bn quite a deal given today's government bailouts.
It is worth noting that because of our lack of this grid new-comers to the wind and solar generation came have been finding it necessary to build their own distribution systems. Aside for being incredibly expensive this just adds more confusion to an already archaic system. I agree with BobTinKY, this is a necessary step, and if Obama is really serious about his energy policy we ought to get on it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere is an article I wrote on the subject last November.
http://thegreentechnocrat.com/?p=291
I tend to agree with TTLG.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile I think we can all agree that having an efficient energy distribution back bone in the US would by no means be a bad thing, it may not exactly be the solution we are looking for.
As many have said, this is something that needed to be done yesterday. But its not done, and we have an economic crisis on our hands, in addition to a potential climate crisis.
We don't even have the power generation systems in place yet that this new "electricity interstate" is seeking to connect. There is plenty of room for development in efficiency and conservation technologies that deserve a long hard look before we begin a project of this size.
If we had been advocating this 10 years ago, I would say it would be top priority. There are too many other issues clouding the way now.
Appeal to creation of a uniform powerful network of electrical supply - largest nonsense, which I heard for last 10 years.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe future for cellular, is territorial by the distributed(allocated) system of electrosupply.
Present, that on each house there is an own source and the thin strings connect this source to the next houses.
Each source provides the house (or one shop at factory) with the electric power and heat, besides has a small stock.
In a case, when the capacity of consumption in one place is suddenly increased, or when there is a failure, the emergency house receives gradually from the neighbours during all time, which leaves on elimination of failure.
If typical sources of energy of mass manufacture, faulty can be very quickly replaced on working.
Such typical - mass sources become sources on the basis of converters of a thermal energy of an environment in an electrical current. In Russia the working breadboard model of such source is made.
At job the heat in air is taken away, his(its) temperature falls.
If the consumption of energy occurs beside, the temperature mode of an environment does not vary.
The present electrical grid is badly overloaded and out dated.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm not sure where TTLG gets his information, I have lived in California 60 plus years an have kept up on the electrical needs and supplies and I don't recall the facts he cites.
The idea that we should not repair and up grade the system because it should have been done 10 years ago is the lamest statement I've heard this week. Kind of like the opinion that we should not drill for American oil because we needed it now and it would not be available for 2 or more years.
In the old days Americans planned on 20 to 100 years into the future. In the last 30 years it's been not now and not in my back yard. These people need to grow up, they have been living on the investments of their betters for a generation and it's about used up.
The Olduvai Theory - Energy, Population, and Industrial Civilization
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisby Richard C. Duncan
We shall define as a social steady state any society in which the quantity [of energy expended] per capita & shows no appreciable change as a function of time. & On the other
hand a society wherein & the average quantity of energy expended per capita undergoes appreciable change as a function of time is said to exhibit social change. & Upon this basis we can measure quantitatively the physical status of any given social system. & The energy per capita [equals the] the total amount [of energy] expended divided by the population. (Ackerman, 1932, p. 18-19)
Ackermans Law is expressed by the ratio: e = Energy/Population.
The Olduvai Theory - Energy, Population, and Industrial Civilization
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisby Richard C. Duncan
We shall define as a “social steady state” any society in which the quantity [of energy
expended] per capita … shows no appreciable change as a function of time. … On the other
hand a society wherein … the average quantity of energy expended per capita undergoes
appreciable change as a function of time is said to exhibit “social change.” … Upon this basis
we can measure quantitatively the physical status of any given social system. … The energy
per capita [equals the] the total amount [of energy] expended divided by the population.
(Ackerman, 1932, p. 18-19)
Ackerman’s Law is expressed by the ratio: e = Energy/Population.
This points out a hidden cost savings for local generated solar panel and wind systems. Even though the cost per watt is higher for home and business grid connected solar panel and small wind turbines, the grid infrastructure is already in place. The impact of a few hundred thousand home and business solar panels and small wind turbines is a significant contribution to solving the problem with current infrastructure. Sometimes, a "good - enough" locale, is better than an ideal one, when infrastructure costs are considered.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe should closely examine what it takes to provide our heat and cooling for buildings from a combination of ground source heat pumps, roof top solar, and small wind where available and not a NIMBY issue. We should also add LED lighting and a more rational way of refrigeration possibly tying the refrigerator to the ground source heat pump. The GSHP is supposed to save 25% on heating and cooling. The LEDs can save 80% on lighting (30% on total electrical use.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSolar and a better way to dry clothes and the need for the grid is greatly reduced for each household.
This is a much easier problem to attack one residence and one community at a time, than a grand plan for the whole country. It is also easier to budget for and fund one house and building at a time.
I hnow I am on my way now, I added LED lighting in January and reduced my electricity usage by 30%. I will add solar this summer and I expect to briefly reduce my net electric to zero. next year will be the ground source heat pump. The tax credits will reduce these expenses by 30%. I will still be connected to the grid , and I will need it when the sun is not shining, but overall my dependence on fossil fuels will be greatly diminished. I am also looking at better ways to dry clothes, and refrigerate food.
Question....Could the generating energy source transmitt it's energy power to space,to be reflected back via micro wave.Eliminate amount of intrastruture required? Bernie
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisQuestion....Could the generating energy source transmitt it's energy power to space,to be reflected back via micro wave.Eliminate amount of intrastruture required? Bernie
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegardless of sources a new US power grid will be needed to carry all the additional electricity being added or planned from many re-newable sources. This new grid should be layed between the existing lanes of our Interstate Highway System. This solves the need for right of way and the highways connect the population centers to each other. Secondly, the electricity will be readily available to power a future "High Speed" transpotation system. Electric motors are stronger and faster than combustion engines and would serve us well on a new electrified Interstate Highway System. Imagine cars and freight moving at speed of 300 mph on an automated system? We have the technology now to do such a project and imagine the JOBS!!! Also imaigine the exporting of such technology if we act first???
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