As renewable energy developers look to exploit resources in deserts, on mountaintops and in offshore waters, the question of how to send the electricity produced from remote locations to the places where people live becomes more pressing. Platts Renewable Energy Report recently highlighted a US Department of Energy study that found that several areas of America, particularly the western United States, face challenges in alleviating transmission bottlenecks to deliver renewable energy to cities. Europe and other areas of the world confront similar problems.
The DOE study called for conducting renewables development, particularly wind energy, in concert with initiatives for improving transmission capacity. This leaves unanswered, however, the practical question of whether renewables companies or utilities will make the initial investments, or whether they can somehow coordinate their outlays in tandem.
The stakes are high. DOE found that under a scenario in which renewable energy is intensely developed in the western [...]
If you build it, will they come?
As renewable energy developers look to exploit resources in deserts, on mountaintops and in offshore waters, the question of how to send the electricity produced from remote locations to the places where people live becomes more pressing. Platts Renewable Energy Report recently highlighted a US Department of Energy study that found that several areas of America, particularly the western United States, face challenges in alleviating transmission bottlenecks to deliver renewable energy to cities. Europe and other areas of the world confront similar problems.
The DOE study called for conducting renewables development, particularly wind energy, in concert with initiatives for improving transmission capacity. This leaves unanswered, however, the practical question of whether renewables companies or utilities will make the initial investments, or whether they can somehow coordinate their outlays in tandem.
The stakes are high. DOE found that under a scenario in which renewable energy is intensely developed in the western [...]
Original post by The Heritage Foundation – 2006-06-12