In the vaunted “energy transition,” nothing screams the word “fantasy” more clearly than the prediction that the United States will have to install 47,000 miles of new high-capacity power lines by 2035.
This is not an evaluation by a renewable energy skeptic, but an evaluation by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), an avid renewable energy advocate. (Related: David Blackmon: Another stupid riot by ‘green’ globalists)
as part of evaluation The DOE, announced in early March, said many would expect moderate loads and a massive expansion of “green” energy “in line with the future power sector enabled by all currently enacted legislation.” of new power transmission will be needed.
In other words, this is an increase in demand driven by the Biden administration and liberal state government plans to electrify all new buildings, retire gas stoves and furnaces, and convert coal and natural gas power plants to wind power. It is a new capability required to account for the increase. Millions of new electric vehicles are on the road, powered by solar power and needing to be recharged on a regular basis.
The challenge facing the developers of a single new transmission line designed to transport power generated by a wind farm project in Wyoming 1,132 miles west to demand markets in California is this 47,000 miles. ambition really is absurd.
The TransWest transmission project, which has been a top priority for the Biden administration, finally began construction last week, after 18 long years of obtaining right-of-way, funding and the necessary local, state and federal permits. was.
That number is not a typo. And understand this. It will take another four years until 2027 to build and start operating only the first stage of the multi-stage system.
Deb Haaland, Biden’s very green interior secretary, said the start of construction on the TransWest project represents a “significant milestone” in the administration’s plan to redo the country’s entire energy sector.
What Harland didn’t say is that the remaining 46,268 miles of new high-capacity transmission will take place over the next few years after this 732-mile project is ready to be launched by her and fellow Biden officials. How is it planned to allow Construction phases spanned four different presidential administrations.
and report of the weekThe E&E Daily notes that TransWest’s developers began the process of obtaining federal approval for the project at least 16 years ago, at the beginning of President George W. Bush’s second term.
As reported by E&E, “The project has faced pushback from some environmental groups, citing potential impacts on natural resources, with power lines running across their property and impacting the landscape.” We faced backlash from local communities and private property owners who were unwilling to give
Of course it did. All other projects designed to fill the rest of his 47,000-mile goal would face the same pressure from the same stakeholders. All stakeholders have a right to oppose a giant 100-foot-tall power line. -A tall tower that would occupy millions of acres of land and become a permanent blemish on observatories across the country.
This is how the American system and its Bill of Rights work.
Senator Joe Manchin and other members of Congress (mostly Republicans) have stressed the need to reform the federal permitting process, and they are right. But there is an inconvenient truth about this. Most federal energy project delays are due to major legislation that is part of the system’s efforts to protect the environment.
A recent compromise on the debt ceiling included language that should streamline permits under the National Environmental Policy Act, but concerns arise from the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, etc. was not intended to reform the major environmental laws.
Also, the language does not literally streamline the thousands of individual permit requirements that exist at the state and local levels, all of which would affect all proposed transmission projects.
Anyone who considers the long timelines and complexities that affected the TransWest project to be some kind of deviation or one-off is almost certainly someone who has never dealt with these Byzantine permitting processes.
Furthermore, anyone who thinks the US will build 47,000 miles of new high-capacity power lines in 12 years is living in a fantasy world.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent his 40 years in the oil and gas business, specializing in public policy and communications.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers capable of serving large audiences. All reissues must include our company logo, press byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
