Donald Trump was the first presidentpromised repeatedly To modernize America's outdated infrastructure. Ultimately, it was President Biden who worked with Congress to get things right. $1.2 trillion Repair and update the nation's power lines, pipes, bridges, and highways.
Biden also managed to win despite not receiving a single Republican vote. Biggest investment in clean and renewable energy ever.
Nothing is more important to a country's future than its energy supply and how it is distributed and used. Now the ball will once again be handed to a new Congress controlled by Trump and the Republicans.
Infrastructure and energy bills are on the books, but incoming leaders will try to influence how that money is spent. Rather than allowing the nation to move forward with its clean energy transition, that spending could be redirected to non-essential purposes or spent on fossil fuels, the energy of the last century. We can't allow that to happen.
Meanwhile, the infrastructure bill would lay the foundation for clean, renewable energy in the United States. 65 billion dollars This is the largest investment in modern electrical transmission and distribution systems in U.S. history.
That system is often referred to as the largest machine ever made. Today consists of: 11,000 generation plant, 5.5 million miles Transmission and distribution lines (equivalent to 46 trips to the moon and back), 180 million utility poles, 3,000 power companies, 590 oil and gas rigs, 2.5 million miles gas pipeline, 560 coal mines in operation and the three separately regional power grid Mainly transmits alternating current.
In 1982, energy visionaries Amory and Hunter Robbins… Research commissioned by the Department of Defense Assess the security of your system. The Robins wrote that the United States “relied on many large, precise machines, rotating halves of the continent in precise synchrony, connected by a network of aerial arteries that, if easily severed, would cause instant chaos.” It warned that the country was dependent on “continuous electricity supply.”
They argue that “the size, complexity, pattern, and control structure of these electrical machines make them inherently vulnerable to large-scale failures. This vulnerability is systematically reinforced by government policy. The same is true for oil, gas and energy supply technologies.” The coal that powers our cars, buildings, and industry relies on these delicate energy systems, unwittingly putting our entire way of life at risk. ”
That assessment is still accurate. Fossil fuels have caused an economic recession and brought the world to the brink of permanent environmental catastrophe. power outage Costs U.S. businesses $150 billion a year and Similar amount for households. Abnormal weather causes the above causes 80% of power outages. Power outages are increasing due to global climate change 67 percent Millions of Americans are also without electricity because tree branches touch power lines, squirrels chew on system components, and vandals shoot at transformers. .
Now, this big machine is facing modern challenges such as power-hungry electric vehicles, data farms, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency mining, and the resurgence of domestic manufacturing.
Over the past decade, improvements in energy efficiency have kept America's electricity demand relatively stable despite a growing population and economy. Now, a single query using ChatGPT is approximately 10x more power Google search. Analysts point out that data centers have power needs could triple in the US. Over the next three years.
The good news is that pollution-free, inexhaustible energy has become the cheapest and fastest way to generate electricity. some 126 million solar panels 4.3 million rooftops already contribute to the country's electricity supply. 75,000 wind turbinesapproximately 4,200 large-scale solar power plants and 2,100 hydroelectric dams. However, more is needed. We have the natural resources and technology to provide it, but we need to modernize and expand our power grid to move clean energy to where it is needed.
As Amory Robbins says today, “We are pitting the technology and speed of the 21st century head-on against the institutions, rules, and culture of the 20th and 19th centuries.”
“Our nation's power grid is at a critical point,” said Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie L. Phillips. “(The power grid) is being tested every day in ways we've never seen before. We're not talking about routine demand. We're talking about a dramatic increase in demand on our system. There is.”
An idea is gaining attention US Department of Energy and google The idea is to locate power-hungry data operations where renewable resources are available and equip them with microgrids that can be disconnected from the larger grid in the event of a power outage. Multiple data operations may be served by the same asset if co-located in an “energy park”.
Other experts say the transmission system has the potential to more economically transmit electricity over long distances by using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines to connect renewable energy assets and load centers. Pointed out. It can be routed along existing rights-of-way and buried to keep it safe from the weather and minimize NIMBYism. of energy futures initiativeHe said the country currently lacks investment in HVDC, even though it is a “critical backbone power grid for economic growth, reliability, resilience, and widespread access to low-cost clean energy.” are.
One of the challenges is the number of actors and stakeholders in America's power system. These include the three transmission regions, utilities, independent power producers, standards bodies, grid operators, government agencies, and consumer and environmental groups. Fortunately, under Biden's Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Department of Energy has issued a comprehensive report. Grid modernization strategya coordinated product of nine DOE offices and 14 national laboratories.
For America's future, we should expect President Trump, Congress, and decision makers across the country to leverage this strategy to optimize the return on every dollar. After all, it was Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, direct current electricity, and America's first power plant. said“I want to put money into the sun and solar energy. I hope I don't have to wait until the oil and coal run out before I start working on it.” He added, “Luck is about opportunity and planning.” This is what happens when two people meet.”
William S. Becker is a former regional director at the U.S. Department of Energy and the author of the following books: Several books on climate change and national disaster policy.100 day action plan to save the planet” and “The Creek Rises: People Living with Floods. ”
