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High voltage power lines in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
CNN
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The White House will announce steps Tuesday to modernize a major obstacle to the clean energy transformation: America’s aging electricity infrastructure.
The new initiative between the federal government and 21 states aims to bring faster repairs and improvements to the grid, pledging to build a bigger, more modern network as part of a broader effort to reduce outages power and increase electricity transmission capacity – a major obstacle to getting more clean energy onto the grid and reducing the planet-warming pollution that is driving the climate crisis.
The announcement comes the same day hundreds of thousands of customers lost power in Texas during destructive storms Tuesday morning, following a deadly holiday weekend marked by severe weather across the South and Midwest. Weather-related power outages are on the rise as stronger storms put increased strain on outdated infrastructure, according to a recent report from the nonprofit research group Climate Central.
The White House and the Department of Energy will make the announcement at a summit bringing together states, industry groups and electricity regulators.
White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi called the new initiative “unprecedented” and said it would “promote rapid and cost-effective grid adaptation.”
“We are investing tens of billions – the largest public investment in a generation – to strengthen our grid to avoid power outages in the face of extreme weather, strengthen America’s energy security and boost innovation,” Zaidi said in a statement.
The United States currently faces a major clean energy problem: There is more electricity from solar alone waiting to be connected to the grid than the total amount of energy currently available on the grid. the network. To combat the climate crisis and increase the amount of cheap energy from clean sources like wind and solar, the United States needs more modern high-voltage transmission lines.
And this comes at a critical time; Although U.S. electricity demand has remained relatively stable over the past few decades, it is expected to increase in the coming years due to the dramatic rise of data centers and AI, as well as demand for electric vehicles.
As part of this initiative, the federal government will provide technical assistance and ensure that states can apply for federal money and loans to build more transmission lines. And leaders in states like Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New York and Arizona are pledging to modernize their transportation, relying on state legislatures and governors to enact policies that improve the network and using new conductors capable of carrying more electricity.
Since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed almost two years ago, Congress has failed to agree on a bill to increase electricity transmission. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently told reporters that it was highly unlikely this would be accomplished before the 2024 election.
Instead of congressional action, the Biden administration has attempted to spur action on its own. It has launched other grid initiatives, working with states and private companies with the goal of upgrading 100,000 miles of existing transmission lines so they can carry more electricity using what’s known as renewal – by exchanging high-voltage lines, which carry more electrical capacity. , on already existing towers.
The three-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently voted to approve a new rule that will make major reforms to the nation’s aging power grid. This will require utilities and grid operators to proactively plan for the construction of a regional electric transmission network and is a step toward solving the problem of large amounts of clean energy stuck in a backlog, unable to access to a network too small to manage it.
Rob Gramlich, CEO of Grid Strategies, told CNN that planning is a key aspect of the grid.
“You’re always better off if you proactively plan and build at the right scale,” Gramlich said. “It turns out we really haven’t proactively planned for transmission. »
After the recent vote, FERC Chairman Willie Phillips called the vote “FERC’s most significant transmission policy action in more than a decade” and said it would provide a significant boost to network construction at a time when it is being tested by extreme weather conditions. and growing energy demand from AI, data centers and electric vehicles.
“Our nation’s aging grid is being tested in ways we’ve never seen before,” Phillips said. “Without meaningful action now, we will not be able to keep the lights on in the face of growing demand, extreme weather and new technologies. »
News Source : amp.cnn.com
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