Why America’s outdated energy grid is a climate problem

This article, part of CNBC’s “Transmission Troubles” series, explains why America’s aging grid is struggling to keep up, how it’s getting better, and why it’s important in the fight against climate change. is explained in detail.

The network of transmission lines that carry electricity across the United States is old and not configured to meet the expected demand for clean energy sources such as wind and solar.

Currently, as a result of power generation, 32% of carbon footprint In the United States, it is primarily from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas. These fuels are transported and burned wherever electricity is needed.

But cheap, emission-free energy sources like solar and wind are plentiful only where the sun shines and the wind blows, and not necessarily near homes and businesses. Moreover, electricity demand will increase as fossil fuels are gradually replaced by many other applications such as electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Keeping the lights on and the air clean requires a lot of new transmission.

In 2021, the most recent year for which data are available, U.S. consumers experienced an average of 7 hours of severe power outages. U.S. Energy Information Administration dataMore than five of those seven hours were during what the EIA calls “major events,” including snowstorms, hurricanes and wildfires. This is a significant increase from 2013 (the first year the data is available) through 2016, which averaged 3-4 hours of outage time, largely due to extreme weather.

“Extreme weather events such as the Dixie wildfires, Hurricane Ida, and the Texas freeze of 2021 have made it clear that America’s existing energy infrastructure cannot withstand the continued impacts of extreme weather events caused by climate change. I did.” The U.S. Department of Energy states:.

Transmission infrastructure will last 50 to 80 years, according to the advisory firm’s 2021 presentation. brattle groupReplacing end-of-life transmission infrastructure could cost an estimated $10 billion annually. According to Brattle Group analysis.

An energy company owned by American Electric Power. 40,000 transmitted milessays 30% of transmission lines will need to be replaced over the next decade. 2022 Transmission Policy Group Grid Strategies Report.

In addition to aging, the location of existing transmission lines has become a problem.

Fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas are typically transported by rail or pipeline and burned at power plants near cities.

The U.S. electricity industry grew through a patchwork of local utility companies meeting local demand. Rob Glamlichfounder of grid strategy, he told CNBC. The U.S. transmission line system was built to serve its energy generation model.

Clean energy sources such as wind and solar do not emit greenhouse gases, but the energy generated must be moved from where the wind and solar are strongest to where the electricity is actually used. .

This is especially true when harnessing the highest quality wind energy, explained a Princeton University professor. Jesse Jenkinsmacro-scale energy systems engineer.

“Wind turbine output is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. This means that the best wind farm sites are eight times more productive than the worst sites, while solar farms are only twice as productive,” Jenkins said.

“Highly volatile wind potential means that wind farms need to be built in locations with strong winds. Wind power development is a major driver of growing transmission needs.” Jenkins said. CNBC.

It’s easier to build solar panels closer to where they’re needed, but “that’s not the case with wind farms,” ​​says Jenkins.

The combination of aging infrastructure requiring costly upgrades and the grid’s inability to reach places where clean, cheap and renewable energy exists is “unfortunately a double blow for consumers,” says Gramlich. he told CNBC.

“However, consumers are benefiting from the cheaper generation that transmission makes possible,” Gramlich said. He advocates replacing outdated infrastructure with advanced technology that can meet the needs of next-generation transmission.

“Replacing old assets with replacements of the same capacity and quality would be very wasteful,” said Gramlich.

In the 1960s and 1970s, power construction boomed in both the United States and Europe. Constantine StashusHe has focused on infection issues throughout his career, both in California and Europe.

“At the time, California was planning to build a nuclear power plant every 100 miles up and down its coast, but it projected a 7% annual increase in electricity demand, far more than it actually built. “We used it because it continued into the ’60s and has into the indefinite future,” Stashus told CNBC. I thought it was necessary.”

but during and after 1970s oil shock, the United States has significantly reduced its own energy needs. “Demand growth basically dropped to 1 or 2% instead of 7% and more or less stayed there,” he told CNBC.

From the late 1970s to the early 2000s, the U.S. grid expanded at a rate of about 2% a year, Jenkins told CNBC.

Today, as efforts to combat global warming and mitigate the effects of climate change intensify, the demand for electricity is set to rise rapidly.

According to the analysis, electricity demand in 2030 will be 14% to 19% higher than 2021 levels. REPEAT (Rapid Energy Policy Evaluation and Analysis Toolkit), Jenkins is part of an energy policy project that will grow by 27% to 39% by 2035, Jenkins said.

“The 21st century power grid will need to meet the steadily increasing demand for power to power electric vehicles, heat pumps, industrial electrification, hydrogen electrolysis, and will utilize the best wind and solar resources. To do so, we need to expand into new parts of the country.Both factors mean we just need a bigger grid with longer-distance transmission,” Jenkins told CNBC.

“Improving resilience by strengthening inter-regional grid connections will enable regions suffering from extreme events to call on their neighbors for help, giving them a stronger and bigger picture,” Jenkins said. It gives us even more reasons to build a grid.”