Energy Gang Speed to power: how can America accelerate the build-out of the next grid? | special episode from the ACORE Grid Forum in Washington DC
Nov 4, 2025
Heather Reams, President of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, discusses the urgent need for bipartisan permitting reform to expand the electricity grid and addresses concerns around renewables. Richard Kauffman, Chair of the Coalition for Green Capital, advocates for innovative financing models to unlock community-scale energy projects. Rob Gramlich, Founder of Grid Strategies, emphasizes the importance of proactive regional transmission planning to meet rising demand. Meanwhile, Theodore Paradise from CTC Global highlights how advanced conductors can double transmission capacity, aiming for rapid deployment to keep pace with electricity needs.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Permitting Reform Is The Political Key
- Permitting reform is the central political obstacle to faster grid build-out across parties and agencies.
- Heather Reams argues bipartisan permitting legislation would signal certainty and unlock investment quickly.
Use Green Banks To Mobilize Finance
- Use green banks to design financing structures that de-risk novel distributed projects for conventional lenders.
- Richard Kauffman recommends building demonstration portfolios so private banks will follow and scale lending.
Distributed Resources Reduce Hidden Grid Costs
- The current grid was not designed for distributed renewables and has low average capacity utilization.
- Locating resources near load and combining solar with storage or demand response reduces distribution costs and overall rates.