#North american power grid upgrade

It will unlock renewable energy potential Here’s why the US should, at long last, build a national grid. Rather than get into the policies and regulatory changes necessary to accomplish this goal - which are many, complex, and lamentably boring - I’m going to briefly cover the top five reasons why it’s a good idea. The initiative is a welcome development this idea of a national grid is overdue for some well-funded support.

#North american power grid upgrade

Earlier this week, an effort launched to finally address that: the Macro Grid Initiative, which “seeks to expand and upgrade the nation’s transmission network.” It is a collaborative project by the American Council on Renewable Energy, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, the Advanced Power Alliance, and the Clean Grid Alliance. Power nerds have known for years that this is a barrier preventing all sorts of efficiencies. Our grid is instead split into three regions - the western interconnection, the eastern interconnection, and, uh, Texas - that largely operate independently and exchange very little power. The US does not actually have a national grid.

Microgrids help support the growth of distributed energy, with power generation, storage, and management taking place on the customer side of the power meter.īut the other branch, and equally important, is bigger. “ Microgrids” are small grids that connect a college campus, a business, or even a house, allowing it to act as a semi-independent island within the larger grid. And as more and more of American life is electrified - transportation and buildings are already on their way - the electricity grid will face greater demands and will need to evolve to meet them.