Federal Big Wires Act will see US power grid into 21st century
Climate change may seem like a tractor-trailer barreling down the hill with no brakes, but there are things we can do right now to gain control of that runaway truck. One key step is passage of the Big Wires Act — a federal bill that will increase the supply of electric power, decrease cost, improve reliability, and make it possible to add large amounts of clean energy to the mix.
The bill will improve the existing system with 21stcentury technology, build storage capacity and require each regional grid to share at least 30% of its peak power by 2035.
Here are just a few of the ways the Big Wires Act will improve your life:
Decrease costs
More transmission capacity facilitates a larger and more diverse power supply, which will drive down prices. Improved power sharing will allow regions with expensive energy to buy cheaper power from other parts of the country, while areas with cheaper power will profit from the sales.
Clean power
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023, we already have the incentives in place to dramatically increase the supply of clean energy such as solar and wind power. But the existing grid can only handle a small fraction of this new power. In fact, new projects currently face an average wait of five years to get connected to the grid, a backlog that left more than 2,000 gigawatts of generation and storage waiting in line at the end of 2022. That’s as much electricity as produced in all the power plants around the country.
Improve reliability
As the demand for electricity grows, blackouts have become more frequent. The nation’s transition to electric cars and household heating will further increase demand. We need a 21st-century power grid that can deliver the electricity we need.
Emergency response
Weather disasters have grown more frequent. When a powerful winter storm hit Texas in 2021, it caused hundreds of deaths and left millions without power for weeks. The impact was more severe and lasted longer because our aging power grid was not able to deliver emergency power from other areas of the country. That’s because Texas has a separate power grid, as does each of the 12 power regions in the country. Big Wires will connect all these regions so that surplus power can be transferred to where it’s needed.
National security
A stable energy grid — one that can respond to cyberterrorism, natural disasters and spikes in demand — is essential to national security. Since 2014, North America has built just 7 gigawatts of interregional transmission compared to 44 gigawatts in Europe and 260 in China.
Local control
Rather than impose rigid requirements across the board, Big Wires is technology neutral, which means that each region can decide what mix of solar, wind, nuclear and fossil fuel energy it will produce, and how to best connect this power to the national grid.
The clock is ticking on climate change, but by taking the proper action now, we can regain control of that runaway truck. The first step was the Inflation Reduction Act, which will dramatically increase the production of clean energy — now we need to create a way to get that energy to the people.
As overwhelming as climate change can be, this is no time to be helpless. Call or write your congressmen to support this important solution.
Bill Ibelle, of Providence, is a member of the Citizens Climate Lobby, Rhode Island chapter.