Aging electricity transmission lines pose a major roadblock to increased renewable energy production
As wind and solar energy development slowly pick up speed, it is quickly becoming apparent that our country’s aging electricity transmission infrastructure is embarrassingly insufficient to handle this shift. This is because our transmission system was designed 100 years ago and “resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.” At the time of its development, our power generation and transmission was quite localized and there was minimal need to carry electricity over long distances. Consequently, as renewable power generation becomes possible in more remote locations (i.e., wind in the Central countryside and solar in the desert Southwest) the existing grid cannot support the increased regional load and long transmission distances. In fact, New Mexico governor and former U.S. energy secretary Bill Richardson has declared that “We still have a third-world grid.”
However, instead of taking this problem as a challenge to be solved, many leaders on the local and federal level continue to ignore the problem, while some NIMBYs and environmentalists actively oppose new lines. Currently in Southern California, a battle is raging over the proposed Sunrise Powerlink project, where a major transmission line would be built, linking the City of San Diego with existing and proposed geothermal, wind and solar energy plants on the other side of the Anza-Borrego State Park. This opposition has prompted the California Governator to declare them hypocrites, stating, “It’s a kind of schizophrenic behavior. They [environmentalists] say that we want renewable energy, but we don’t want you to put it anywhere.”
While we don’t claim to be experts on the Sunrise Powerlink project, and understand the handling of the project has been controversial, there is no denying that we need to take meaningful action to develop the means of transporting newly burgeoning renewable energy sources to population centers. It is hard enough to get our government to do the right thing, and to overcome the always present NIMBY factor, so when environmentalists join the chorus of groups standing in the way of solutions to our failing energy policy, things are really grim. Whether it is allowing trees planted for roadside landscaping to determine the route of a tenuous public transit line in Santa Monica, having to turn off windmills in Altamont to protect nearby birds, or, as is the case here, opposing new electricity transmission lines, some environmentalists can add themselves to the list of people and groups responsible for our inability to solve some of our most pressing environmental problems.
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Comments
One Comment on Aging electricity transmission lines pose a major roadblock to increased renewable energy production
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Wendi on
Thu, 28th Aug 2008 1:00 pm
I think it may be only time before hardcore environmentalists begin opposing wind energy on a broad scale over some of the “green” issues you mention like birds and transmission lines. I agree this would be unfortunate. BTW, I consider myself an environmentalist.
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