The nation’s electric grid needs to be expanded and made more reliable for our future energy demands and climate forecasts. The way we’ve built transmission in the past — regionally siloed with short term planning — is now suffering from reliability and capacity issues and won’t work for the next century.

The Department of Energy is drafting plans for national transmission corridors to help speed new construction. It’s also handing out funds to build new lines and upgrade existing infrastructure to increase capacity.

Meanwhile, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently passed a rule requiring utilities to work together and take a longer view on planning their transmission needs. But it will still take years to accomplish these changes.

Can we build a robust national transmission system that serves our decarbonized future at the speed we need?

Guests:

Shelley Welton, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy 

Danielle Fidler, Senior Attorney, Clean Energy Program, Earthjustice

Pat Wood, CEO, Hunt Energy

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