Hiding in Plain Sight
Mark Gabriel is CEO of United Power.
There is a daily flow of stories trumpeting the need for transmission, that the energy transition is being thwarted by queues, that the dreams of a low-carbon future are gated by the inability to get funding, or that permit reform is the answer to everything moving power across vast distances. This coverage is no longer limited to utility industry communications.
News coverage is bolstered by studies showing the need for major new transmission highways, hearings at the federal and state levels, new orders from FERC, and promises of transmission corridors to free the electrons trapped far from population centers. Markets make announcements and pronouncements about coming projects, utilities tout new lines that will certainly ease the congestion, and developers scour the countryside for opportunities for projects.
At the same time, load growth in many areas of the country continues apace. Driven by electrification and data centers, electric vehicles, and burgeoning artificial intelligence, as well as bitcoin mines, projections show an additional thirty-eight gigawatts of capacity is needed in the next four years. Coincidentally, central power stations powered by coal and natural gas are slated for closure and nuclear generation crawls somewhat forward. Some recent coverage tells the story: