ENERGY SECURITYAllowing More Juice to Flow Through Power Lines Could Hasten Clean Energy Projects
If the thousands of proposed solar, wind and battery energy projects got built, they would more than double the amount of electricity that is currently produced nationwide and get the U.S. much closer to its clean energy targets. But there’s one big problem: America’s power lines can’t carry that much juice. Grid-enhancing technologies can help existing lines carry more electricity.
If the thousands of proposed solar, wind and battery energy projects got built, they would more than double the amount of electricity that is currently produced nationwide and get the U.S. much closer to its clean energy targets.
But there’s one big problem: America’s power lines can’t carry that much juice.
The country’s limited transmission infrastructure is causing a huge backlog: Wait times for regulators to approve grid connections now last about five years on average, a figure that stood at less than two years in 2008.
“We have a ton of resources sitting in [backlogs] that can’t get connected to the system,” said Byron Corum, technical adviser to Commissioner Allison Clements, who serves on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “One of the big reasons is we’re running out of space on the transmission grid.”
Building new transmission lines to swoop across the nation’s landscape can cost billions of dollars and require decades of permitting and construction. As that work continues, some policymakers are pushing an interim solution: squeezing more capacity out of existing power lines.
Grid-enhancing technologies, or GETs, are low-cost, quick-to-deploy devices that can help existing infrastructure carry up to 40% more electricity. Backers say these upgrades could bring a surge of clean energy projects online, even as future transmission lines remain under construction.
Congestion on the grid cost consumers more than $20 billion in 2022, one analysis found, a massive spike from just a few years before. Some lawmakers think technology upgrades could significantly lower utility bills in addition to their climate benefits.
“They are very cheap in terms of how much money they save for the grid when compared to creating new lines, which can be billions of dollars,” said Ava Gallo, climate and energy program manager with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
But many utilities have been slow to deploy GETs. In most states, utilities can charge higher rates based on investments they’ve made to improve infrastructure. That means expensive projects — such as building new power lines — deliver a much higher profit return than low-cost upgrades.
“Utilities are definitely biased toward building big, expensive projects where they get a solid return and make a bunch of money,” said Utah state Sen. Nate Blouin, a Democrat. “That’s not what GETs is.”
