Transformer bottleneck: Can the U.S. maintain and expand its electric grid?
Electrical transformers are becoming a key chokepoint for maintenance and expansion of the electrical grid in the U.S. and worldwide.
power grid
Transition as Wildfire Adaptation in California
We are fortunate to have Michael Wara as our guest in this episode—a bona fide expert on the subject who is a member of the state-appointed wildfire commission in California—to help us think through this complex web of issues and understand how to start plotting a new path into the future.
Ordinary Life has Vanished in Fire-Ravaged California
California is the fifth-largest economy in the world and likes to shout about its genius at innovation, but it is a victim of its lack of energy innovation. It’s a climate disaster zone, with the new reality of hotter, dryer conditions made far worse by the outdated power grid and corrupt private corporation in charge of distributing gas and electricity.
Siting Long Distance Transmission Lines
Many outlooks for a mostly renewable U.S. power grid include a lot more high-voltage transmission lines. But is this a realistic hope, considering how few of these lines we’ve built in recent years, and the many barriers they always seem to face?
Coal and Nuclear are Uneconomic — More Bombshells from Perry’s Draft Grid Study
On Saturday, we reported that a leaked draft of Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s grid study obtained by Bloomberg debunks his attack on renewable energy. ThinkProgress has now obtained a copy of that draft, and it has many more surprises — or, rather, findings that are fairly well known to energy experts but may come as an unpleasant surprise to Perry and the White House.
Rethink the Grid: Personal Power Stations
Rethinking the grid is quickly emerging as one of the hottest topics.
From grid waste to good taste
The U.S. power grid is a vital part of the nation’s infrastructure. It’s also a wasteful one. Now, a new start-up is looking to solve both of these inefficiencies at once by reducing utilities’ excess power production while turning dormant lands into productive greenhouses.
The new future of energy policy
Flood myths are common to human culture. Swollen rivers, tidal storms, and tsunamis make their appearance frequently in literature. But Hurricane Sandy, which has drawn newly etched high-water marks on the buildings of lower Manhattan (and Brooklyn), has shifted the discussion from storytelling to reality.
