For expanding renewable power options like wind and solar to fully transform national energy production, we need similarly remarkable advances modernizing how electricity transmits across states through aging grid infrastructure originally built for fossil fuel-dominated systems controlled centrally instead of diversified supplies fluctuating regionally.

The Challenge

To appreciate the transmission quandaries facing renewable expansion, understanding the historical context proves important. Early electrical grids were designed around large, local power plants that burned readily available fuels, with limited need for electricity transmission between states. This worked fine for a predominantly fossil fuel-powered world yet proves antiquated today.

Clean energy resources like massive wind farms or solar arrays operate most efficiently in specialized geographies covering dozens or hundreds of miles. Moving that dispersed renewable harvest across entire states, then regional connections for population centers requires transmission capacities and smart distribution controls not originally necessary in those legacy designs from decades ago. Comprehensively enhancing the aging national grid marks a monumental yet essential undertaking.

Without better transmission capabilities minimizing losses over farther distances, perfectly usable clean energy gets squandered attempting delivery through obsolete conduits optimized for old fossil fuel plants operating differently. Just like improving dedicated highway infrastructure facilitated increased traffic volumes and commerce between cities, electrically linking specialized renewable energy hubs feeding major metro regions requires comparable network expansion efforts for sustainable progress at similar scales.

Reliability & Redundancy

Insufficient transmission capacity, severe weather, and cyberattacks hinder renewable energy expansion and grid reliability. For national renewable goals to achieve complete replacements of conventional power generation, the system needs profound redundancy upgrades.

Interconnecting robust long-distance underground transmission passageways through strategic redundancy and smart computer-regulated load balancing means electricity flows route across multiply pathways when threats impact individual lines. Likewise, electricity travels more securely through interconnected web conduits offering adaptive mesh access compared to solitary tributaries prone to single-point failures. According to the folk at Commonwealth, 21st century renewable energy depends on equally resilient transmission backing.

An Interconnected Supergrid

A coast-to-coast “supergrid” offers the best solution for reliable renewable energy transmission despite current infrastructure challenges.

High-capacity HVDC and smart AC transmission lines enable efficient long-distance electricity transport, minimizing losses and maximizing sustainability by delivering desert solar power to coastal cities. Uniting the country through a renewable electricity supergrid means communities across America enjoy resilient access to boundless domestic green power for a sustainable future, regardless of location.

An Invigorated Economy

Beyond the considerable ecological merits of supporting reliable renewable electricity growth coast to coast, embracing the economic potential of these infrastructure improvements proves equally compelling. Just as the Interstate Highway System’s improved transportation transformed American commerce, a National Renewable Energy SuperGrid would similarly revolutionize electricity distribution, replacing roads with a network of highly efficient transmission lines.

Rather than burning imported fuels while watching money figuratively go up in smoke as well, locally harvested wind, solar and other emission-free domestic electricity generation sources earn income from distant regions instantly through instantaneous grid exchange. Rural economic revival is being supercharged by the renewable energy trade, as small towns flourish as centers for sustainable energy. Investing in a supergrid ultimately invests in ourselves many times over thanks to keeping energy dollars circulating locally.

Conclusion

Widespread adoption of renewable energy sources requires a significant upgrade to our transmission grid—one that can reliably handle a massive increase in power from diverse locations, across greater distances, and withstand extreme weather. A nationwide high-voltage direct current (HVDC) supergrid will deliver clean energy, boosting rural economies and transforming the energy sector for generations to come. We already have the technology for renewable energy independence. To maintain their success, their infrastructure must now reflect their innovative drive.