![]() However, changes in federal law and the IRA, along with the worsening effects of extreme weather events, are creating a new sense of awareness and urgency among policymakers and renewable energy advocates, helping to usher transmission projects forward, with Houston emerging as a north star for companies looking to address the disconnect. In the past, transmission projects have stalled or failed in the face of opposition from landowners and snags in securing permitting or financing. “Reliability has always been important, but it’s even more important because of new generation sources and more extreme weather events.” “We’re still discussing how are we going to decarbonise the economy, but electrification is going to play a huge role in that - and to electrify, you gotta have the grid,” said Michael Skelly, CEO of Houston-based Grid United and regarded as a pioneer in the transmission industry. Failure to expand that network will hurt grid reliability as more renewable energy comes online and coal-fired power plants are mothballed. To help address that, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included a suite of incentives to encourage more wind and solar farms that feed power into the nation’s web of electricity grids.īut a chasm lies between cleaner power generation and the network of electrified buildings and vehicles that consume that energy: the nation doesn’t have enough long distance transmission lines - which are notoriously challenging and expensive to build - to deliver all that power. Yet fossil fuels are integral to the production of electricity, part of a process that accounts for 25 percent of greenhouse gas emission in the country, according to the U.S. Such electrification of transportation, homes and commercial buildings is the cornerstone of federal policies meant to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. city of the future: Electric cars zip around downtowns stocked with a network of fast charging stations, passing homes filled with electric appliances all while sharing the road with a fully electric public transportation system. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Show More Show LessĬonsider the U.S. It is located in the city road right of way. The pole is part of an ongoing project to upgrade energy transmission structures in the area. ![]() Brandon Bell, Staff / Getty Images Show More Show Less 5 of5Ī large utility pole at the corner of Fairview and Park in Montrose. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has said that it has enough resources to meet demand. Power demand in Texas is expected to set new all-time highs as heatwaves surge to levels rarely seen outside of summer, and economic growth contributes to higher usage in homes and businesses. Transmission towers are seen in Houston, Texas. Pattern is headquartered in California but has its operations center in Houston Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 4 of5 ![]() The company has been developing a 320-mile transmission line from the Texas border into Mississippi. ![]() Courtesy of Pattern Energy Show More Show Less 3 of5Ĭary Kottler, chief development officer at Pattern Energy. Part of Pattern Energy's Western Spirit Transmission line that went into operation in late 2021 to help deliver 800 megawatts of wind power to the electric grid in New Mexico. The billionaire Houston philanthropist, former hedge fund manager and former energy trader, backed the launch of Grid United in 2021 Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 2 of5
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