The energy transition calls for more electrification. As transportation, heating, industry, and now power demand from data centers all crowd the interconnection queues, the US needs more transmission than it has built in generations. Even energy transition skeptics can agree on the wires.
But agreement on the need for more transmission has never been enough to get lines up and running. In 2019, journalist Russell Gold joined us to tell the story of Michael Skelly, who tried harder than anyone. His company, Clean Line Energy, spent a decade developing five major transmission lines to move wind power from the Midwest to the cities that needed it. His flagship line, the 700-mile Plains & Eastern, was fully permitted and offered the Tennessee Valley Authority twenty years of wind power at $18.50 per megawatt-hour, a price even the cheapest coal can’t match. But economics aside, TVA walked away and not one of the five lines got built. Gold’s book Superpower explains why engineering or economics weren’t able to overcome the rules written state by state that build “regulatory moats” around the incumbents and keep the outsiders out.
Seven years since then, and those moats are where the race to tackle growing power demand is backing up. Recently ERCOT froze approvals of new data-center connections while the state audits an interconnection queue that has swelled to roughly 474 gigawatts of requested power capacity, more than five times the all-time peak power demand on the Texas grid. In Washington, FERC ordered the six regional grid operators it oversees to explain where the transmission for loads like that will come from. The specific fights are new but the overall mechanism is the one Russell Gold mapped with our host Chris Nelder back in <a href="https://xenetwork.org/ets/episodes/episode-98-why-building-transmission-is-so-hard/">Episode #98</a>.
Since then, Grain Belt Express, the line Skelly had to sell on the way down, has grown into an $11 billion, 800-mile project with $1.7 billion in construction contracts signed. And Skelly has a new company working on the first large-scale connection between America’s two big grids, a step toward the concept of Superpower that would tie the country’s balkanized regional grids into one that could more readily support the energy transition’s future.

The energy transition calls for more electrification. As transportation, heating, industry, and now power demand from data centers all crowd the interconnection queues, the US needs more transmission than it has built in generations. Even energy transition skeptics can agree on the wires. But agreement on the need for more transmission has never been enough to get lines up and running. In 2019, journalist Russell Gold joined us to tell the story of Michael Skelly, who tried harder than anyone. His company, Clean Line Energy, spent a decade developing five major transmission lines to move wind power from the Midwest to the cities that needed it. His flagship line, the 700-mile Plains & Eastern, was fully permitted and offered the Tennessee Valley Authority twenty years of wind power at $18.50 per megawatt-hour, a price even the cheapest coal can’t match. But economics aside, TVA walked away and not one of the five lines got built. Gold’s book Superpower explains why engineering or economics weren’t able to overcome the rules written state by state that build “regulatory moats” around the incumbents and keep the outsiders out. Seven years since then, and those moats are where the race to tackle growing power demand is backing up. Recently ERCOT froze approvals of new data-center connections while the state audits an interconnection queue that has swelled to roughly 474 gigawatts of requested power capacity, more than five times the all-time peak power demand on the Texas grid. In Washington, FERC ordered the six regional grid operators it oversees to explain where the transmission for loads like that will come from. The specific fights are new but the overall mechanism is the one Russell Gold mapped with our host Chris Nelder back in Episode #98. Since then, Grain Belt Express, the line Skelly had to sell on the way down, has grown into an $11 billion, 800-mile project with $1.7 billion in construction contracts signed. And Skelly has a new company working on the first large-scale connection between America’s two big grids, a step toward the concept of Superpower that would tie the country’s balkanized regional grids into one that could more readily support the energy transition’s future.

The energy transition calls for more electrification. As transportation, heating, industry, and now power demand from data centers all crowd the interconnection queues, the US needs more transmission than it has built in generations. Even energy transition skeptics can agree on the wires.
But agreement on the need for more transmission has never been enough to get lines up and running. In 2019, journalist Russell Gold joined us to tell the story of Michael Skelly, who tried harder than anyone. His company, Clean Line Energy, spent a decade developing five major transmission lines to move wind power from the Midwest to the cities that needed it. His flagship line, the 700-mile Plains &amp; Eastern, was fully permitted and offered the Tennessee Valley Authority twenty years of wind power at $18.50 per megawatt-hour, a price even the cheapest coal can’t match. But economics aside, TVA walked away and not one of the five lines got built. Gold’s book Superpower explains why engineering or economics weren’t able to overcome the rules written state by state that build “regulatory moats” around the incumbents and keep the outsiders out.
Seven years since then, and those moats are where the race to tackle growing power demand is backing up. Recently ERCOT froze approvals of new data-center connections while the state audits an interconnection queue that has swelled to roughly 474 gigawatts of requested power capacity, more than five times the all-time peak power demand on the Texas grid. In Washington, FERC ordered the six regional grid operators it oversees to explain where the transmission for loads like that will come from. The specific fights are new but the overall mechanism is the one Russell Gold mapped with our host Chris Nelder back in <a href="https://xenetwork.org/ets/episodes/episode-98-why-building-transmission-is-so-hard/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Episode #98</a>.
Since then, Grain Belt Express, the line Skelly had to sell on the way down, has grown into an $11 billion, 800-mile project with $1.7 billion in construction contracts signed. And Skelly has a new company working on the first large-scale connection between America’s two big grids, a step toward the concept of Superpower that would tie the country’s balkanized regional grids into one that could more readily support the energy transition’s future.

[Episode #282] – Regulatory Moats Around Transmission

Right now, Great Britain has more than enough new solar projects waiting to be connected to its distribution grid to meet its 2030 renewable energy target.
Italy and Poland could reach half their 2030 solar targets just by connecting the solar already sitting in their queues.
Across just eight European countries, there’s a whopping 375 GW of wind and solar PV projects, and an even larger 455 GW of battery storage projects, just languishing in connection queues. Together, these wind, solar and battery resources are roughly equivalent to the entire generation capacity of those countries.
These are the shocking findings from a new study commissioned by the European climate nonprofit Beyond Fossil Fuels. Its estimates are deliberately conservative: the study values the trapped clean energy projects at around €100 billion, with the real total almost certainly higher. In this episode, we welcome Tara Connolly, their Programme Lead for Energy Markets and Grids, to share what the report found and learn what can be done about this sad state of affairs.
And the crunch isn’t only on the supply side. Data centers are now muscling to the front of the same queues. In Ireland, they already consume half of greater Dublin’s electricity, while households’ EV chargers, rooftop solar, and home batteries wait behind them.
It will not surprise our longtime listeners at all to learn that unlocking all this mostly comes down to regulation, with many of the fixes already on the books, just not enforced.

Right now, Great Britain has more than enough new solar projects waiting to be connected to its distribution grid to meet its 2030 renewable energy target. Italy and Poland could reach half their 2030 solar targets just by connecting the solar already sitting in their queues. Across just eight European countries, there’s a whopping 375 GW of wind and solar PV projects, and an even larger 455 GW of battery storage projects, just languishing in connection queues. Together, these wind, solar and battery resources are roughly equivalent to the entire generation capacity of those countries. These are the shocking findings from a new study commissioned by the European climate nonprofit Beyond Fossil Fuels. Its estimates are deliberately conservative: the study values the trapped clean energy projects at around €100 billion, with the real total almost certainly higher. In this episode, we welcome Tara Connolly, their Programme Lead for Energy Markets and Grids, to share what the report found and learn what can be done about this sad state of affairs. And the crunch isn’t only on the supply side. Data centers are now muscling to the front of the same queues. In Ireland, they already consume half of greater Dublin’s electricity, while households’ EV chargers, rooftop solar, and home batteries wait behind them. It will not surprise our longtime listeners at all to learn that unlocking all this mostly comes down to regulation, with many of the fixes already on the books, just not enforced.

[Episode #279] – Debottlenecking Europe’s Grid

What will it take to make the vision of “smart homes” and smart appliances real?

[Episode #232] – Smart Meters and Appliances

Why haven’t our climate policies been more effective at stopping carbon emissions, and what kinds of policies would work better?

[Episode #231] – Five Times Faster

How is the public EV charging sector evolving, and what is needed to make it more usable and affordable for EV drivers?

[Episode #230] – EV Charging Blues

What is the full potential for distributed solar power in the US?

[Episode #229] – US Distributed Solar Potential

What kinds of messages resonate with people and get them interested in taking action on climate and participating in the energy transition?

[Episode #228] – Public Persuasion

What is the new FERC Order 1920, and how can it help pave the way for more transmission capacity to unlock the potential of wind and solar in the US?

[Episode #227] – FERC Order 1920

Should we believe projections of surging electricity demand from data centers, crypto miners and AI? And are new gas plants the best way to meet new demand?

[Episode #226] – Load Growth Shenanigans

What is the role and potential of demand-side solutions in the energy transition?

[Episode #225] – Demand Side Solutions

Will the final proposed rules for the US 45V hydrogen production tax credit stimulate a vibrant green hydrogen industry without increasing carbon emissions?

[Episode #224] – US Hydrogen Tax Credits

As we phase out fossil fuels, can the revenues they have supplied to some communities be replaced by revenues from clean energy projects?

[Episode #223] – Fiscal Implications of the US Transition

Straight talk about the world’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables with energy expert Chris Nelder

Share The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

FAQs about The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder:

How many episodes does The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder have?

The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder episodes:

FAQs about The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder:

How many episodes does The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder have?

More shows like The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

Energy Gang

Columbia Energy Exchange

Currents

Energy Insiders - a RenewEconomy Podcast

Interchange Recharged

Redefining Energy

Switched On

POLITICO Energy

Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

Volts

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

The Green Blueprint

Zero: The Climate Race

Shift Key with Robinson Meyer

Open Circuit