Ari Fleischer: Some combination of what I'm going to call big grid and small grid efforts will be necessary to reach our decarbonization goals. He says the place to hurry is on the smaller grid, where interconnection timelines are shorter. Fleischer: The unfortunate thing though is the distribution grid wasn't really built for that. But we've got to do it because we want to have this highly resilient, decentralized, he writes.
Thousands of renewable energy projects are ready to be built and start producing fossil-free power, but they’re stuck in a long limbo for one essential piece of the puzzle: getting connected to the grid. A slow and inefficient federal permitting process and insufficient transmission capability are prohibiting renewable energy projects from going online. To make matters even more difficult, the U.S. lacks a centralized grid. That means adding layers of complexity to an already slow process. The Biden administration is focused on streamlining the permitting process, boosting funding and helping navigate this new energy future. What will it take to modernize our multiple grids?
Guests:
Pat Wood III, CEO, Hunt Energy Network
Jennifer Gardner, Vice Chair, Western Energy Imbalance Market
José Zayas, Executive Vice President of Policy and Programs, American Council on Renewable Energy
L. Michelle Moore, CEO, Groundswell
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