Antiquated US grid connection system is slowing the renewables momentum
US investment in renewables is growing rapidly, but grid connection spells problems: Despite record US investment in low-carbon technologies — spurred by President Joe Biden’s landmark climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — plans are failing to translate into action due to the outdated grid systems delaying projects, according to a New York Times long read out last week.
What kind of challenges are renewables providers facing? Recent soaring volumes of new connection requests and the limited capacity of local grids to accommodate new energy provision are key challenges in getting projects off the ground — requiring investment in grid upgrades and causing delays that ultimately impact project viability, the NYT notes.
And just how many projects are getting held up? Fewer than one-fifth of solar and wind proposals make it through the “interconnection queue” to begin the process of grid connection, according to the newspaper, citing research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Some 8.1k energy projects — mostly renewables — were waiting for interconnection to different regional grids in the US at the end of 2021, up from 5.6k at the end of 2020.
If these issues aren’t resolved, the IRA will do little to slash US emissions: Electricity production currently generates some 25% of US greenhouse gases, according to the NYT. Though Biden’s IRA will provide some USD 370 bn in subsidies to boost low-carbon energy production — aiming to greatly reduce these emissions — it fails to tackle many practical barriers to getting projects off the ground, the NYT notes. These impediments, including delays in permit issuance, transmission constraints, and local opposition, could ultimately prevent the regulation from serving its intended purpose of emissions reduction, note unnamed experts cited by the publication.
Whale detection tech to boost marine conservation: Offshore wind power developer Vineyard Wind is trialing an AI-powered computer detection system developed to avoid collisions with whales and other marine mammals, Bloomberg reports. Vessels transporting turbines to Vineyard’s USD 3 bn, 62-turbine project will be kitted with infra-red and visible light-sensitive cameras enabling 360-degree sweeps of the waters they traverse, providing an artificial intelligence algorithm with the intel it needs to determine the nature of objects in the vicinity of the turbine-ferrying ships.