Transmission logjams could kill centralized renewables

By Jesse Berst

We posted a story Monday describing the growth potential in transmission spending, which in theory would help the cause of centralized renewables – getting power from the wind and solar farms where it’s generated to where it’s needed.  But hold the phone, please. I have serious doubts about the U.S. increasing transmission capacity in any significant way anytime soon.

The elephant in the transmission room for years now has been regulatory and siting hurdles and I see no evidence that the situation is improving.  It may be getting worse. Environmentalists don’t want us poking more transmission towers in the ground. NIMBYs don’t want them either – or at least they don’t want them where they are. And increasingly governors don’t want high-voltage lines crisscrossing their states if the ultimate destination of the power they carry is some other governor’s constituents.

So we talk a good talk about wanting more renewables in our energy mix. But short of waiting 20 years for distributed generation and just-in-place power to pick up the slack, do YOU think we’re going to see more transmission lines transporting more energy from renewables anytime soon?

That’s our Tuesday Topic this week … I hope you’ll join the discussion.