As you know, one of the problems with building solar and wind projects is that the places where the wind blows and the sun shines are often far away from the places that need them. While lots of wind blows on the Great Plains and lots of sun bakes desert in the southwestern United States, those places are far away from most major population centers, especially those on the East Coast.
Because of the lack of transmission lines to carry green energy to population centers, as much as 300,000 megawatts of green power projects are being put on hold. One of the projects in the headlines which was held up was the wind farm that T. Boone Pickens proposed.
The lack of transmission capacity has caused some to call for government investment in a "green power superhighway." According to ITC Holdings, which is biased because it builds transmission lines, this green power superhighway "will cost a tiny fraction of the money we spent on the highways and do a ton more good."
Some powerful politicians, such as Senate majority leader Harry Reid, agree. Reid sees an improved power grid as a way to address climate change and as a catalyst for jobs in his home state of Nevada. As debate begins on cap and trade legislation, many are pushing for funding to improve the transmission system. This will be paid for by a surtax that all electric consumers would pay.
However, opposition to this is coming from an unexpected source -- utilities. The CEO of PSEG, based in Newark, NJ, says that this would actually undermine the development of green power. He says that his company's plans to build wind turbines off the Jersey shore and to put solar panels on rooftops would make less economic sense if wind and solar energy from the Great Plains and southwestern United States came into his region.
And the Environmental Defense Fund says that if new transmission lines are built, there is nothing to keep utilities from building coal fired plants to take advantage of it. The EDF cautions that there is a possibility that building this green energy superhighway "will simply facilitate more of the same old conventional stuff."
What is not up for debate is that the grid does need to be modernized. It is using old technology and according to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "is not built to do this job." As much as nine percent of all electicity generated is lost over transmission lines. All parties agree that billions must be spent to upgrade the system.
And the Sierra Club seems to have found a logical way to handle the upgrades. First, since the upgrading the current system will take years, we should make better use of the existing grid and promote small scale green energy projects such as rooftop solar panels and mini wind turbines. Then after that's done, the focus should shift to building whatever power lines the country needs most.
The person working on analyzing how best to move forward for the Sierra Club says that the current project is "one of the most important things I've ever worked on." He's right. And his advice makes a lot of sense. By implementing smaller projects on a local basis, companies like PSEG can start the shift away from polluting sources of electricity to green ones now, with the current infrastructure already in place. And then, once that's done, logical investments in a new transmission system can be made.
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Because of the lack of transmission lines to carry green energy to population centers, as much as 300,000 megawatts of green power projects are being put on hold. One of the projects in the headlines which was held up was the wind farm that T. Boone Pickens proposed.
The lack of transmission capacity has caused some to call for government investment in a "green power superhighway." According to ITC Holdings, which is biased because it builds transmission lines, this green power superhighway "will cost a tiny fraction of the money we spent on the highways and do a ton more good."
Some powerful politicians, such as Senate majority leader Harry Reid, agree. Reid sees an improved power grid as a way to address climate change and as a catalyst for jobs in his home state of Nevada. As debate begins on cap and trade legislation, many are pushing for funding to improve the transmission system. This will be paid for by a surtax that all electric consumers would pay.
However, opposition to this is coming from an unexpected source -- utilities. The CEO of PSEG, based in Newark, NJ, says that this would actually undermine the development of green power. He says that his company's plans to build wind turbines off the Jersey shore and to put solar panels on rooftops would make less economic sense if wind and solar energy from the Great Plains and southwestern United States came into his region.
And the Environmental Defense Fund says that if new transmission lines are built, there is nothing to keep utilities from building coal fired plants to take advantage of it. The EDF cautions that there is a possibility that building this green energy superhighway "will simply facilitate more of the same old conventional stuff."
What is not up for debate is that the grid does need to be modernized. It is using old technology and according to the
Image via Wikipedia
And the Sierra Club seems to have found a logical way to handle the upgrades. First, since the upgrading the current system will take years, we should make better use of the existing grid and promote small scale green energy projects such as rooftop solar panels and mini wind turbines. Then after that's done, the focus should shift to building whatever power lines the country needs most.
The person working on analyzing how best to move forward for the Sierra Club says that the current project is "one of the most important things I've ever worked on." He's right. And his advice makes a lot of sense. By implementing smaller projects on a local basis, companies like PSEG can start the shift away from polluting sources of electricity to green ones now, with the current infrastructure already in place. And then, once that's done, logical investments in a new transmission system can be made.
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