Obama’s energy secretary nominee Steven Chu called a nationwide grid to bring renewable energy online as a project of “national interest.” Today’s multiple grids make it impossible to transmit power from west to east, limiting the national benefits of large wind and solar facilities planned for the western half of the country.
The need for planning such a grid, and determining where to string transmission lines, will certainly take a good deal of time that may preclude this “green infrastructure” from being part of the stimulus plan. Washington insiders are already talking about a separate energy bill with provisions for national grid expansion, smart grid technology and wind and solar incentives. The expansion of rail and other “green” mass transit initiative may also wait for a larger transportation bill that would be proposed later in the year.
Read more in this Chicago Tribune story.
