DAVID McHUGH
Mon, October 16, 2023
Heavy machinery is used to cut trees to widen an existing Central Maine Power power line corridor to make way for new utility poles, April 26, 2021, near Bingham, Maine. Stalled spending on electrical grids worldwide is slowing the rollout of renewable energy and could put efforts to limit climate change at risk if millions of miles of power lines aren't added or refurbished in the next few years. The International Energy Agency said in a report Tuesday that the capacity to connect to and transmit electricity isn't keeping pace with the rapid growth of clean energy technology like solar and wind power, electric cars and heat pumps.
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Stalled spending on electrical grids worldwide is slowing the rollout of renewable energy and could put efforts to limit climate change at risk if millions of miles of power lines are not added or refurbished in the next few years, the International Energy Agency said.
The Paris-based organization said in the report Tuesday that the capacity to connect to and transmit electricity is not keeping pace with the rapid growth of clean energy technologies such as solar and wind power, electric cars and heat pumps being deployed to move away from fossil fuels.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told The Associated Press in an interview that there is a long line of renewable projects waiting for the green light to connect to the grid. The stalled projects could generate 1,500 gigawatts of power, or five times the amount of solar and wind capacity that was added worldwide last year, he said.
“It's like you are manufacturing a very efficient, very speedy, very handsome car — but you forget to build the roads for it,” Birol said.
If spending on grids stayed at current levels, the chance of holding the global increase in average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the goal set by the 2015 Paris climate accords — “is going to be diminished substantially,” he said.
The IEA assessment of electricity grids around the globe found that achieving the climate goals set by the world's governments would require adding or refurbishing 80 million kilometers (50 million miles) of power lines by 2040 — an amount equal to the existing global grid in less than two decades.
Annual investment has been stagnant but needs to double to more than $600 billion a year by 2030, the agency said.
It's not uncommon for a single high-voltage overhead power line to take five to 13 years to get approved through bureaucracy in advanced economies, while lead times are significantly shorter in China and India, according to the IEA.
The report cited the South Link transmission project to carry wind power from northern to southern Germany. First planned in 2014, it was delayed after political opposition to an overhead line meant it was buried instead. Completion is expected in 2028 instead of 2022.
Other important projects that have been held up: the 400-kilometer (250-mile) Bay of Biscay connector between Spain and France, now expected for 2028 instead of 2025, and the SunZia high-voltage line to bring wind power from New Mexico to Arizona and California. Construction started only last month after years of delays.
On the East Coast, the Avangrid line to bring hydropower from Canada to New England was interrupted in 2021 following a referendum in Maine. A court overturned the statewide vote rejecting the project in April.
IEA: World must add 50,000 miles of power lines by 2040 to hit climate targets
Tue, October 17, 2023
The world must double existing power grid networks to 100,000 miles globally by 2040 to avoid missing the internationally agreed temperature rise targets and eroding energy security, the International Energy Agency warned Tuesday.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Stalled spending on electrical grids worldwide is slowing the rollout of renewable energy and could put efforts to limit climate change at risk if millions of miles of power lines are not added or refurbished in the next few years, the International Energy Agency said.
The Paris-based organization said in the report Tuesday that the capacity to connect to and transmit electricity is not keeping pace with the rapid growth of clean energy technologies such as solar and wind power, electric cars and heat pumps being deployed to move away from fossil fuels.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told The Associated Press in an interview that there is a long line of renewable projects waiting for the green light to connect to the grid. The stalled projects could generate 1,500 gigawatts of power, or five times the amount of solar and wind capacity that was added worldwide last year, he said.
“It's like you are manufacturing a very efficient, very speedy, very handsome car — but you forget to build the roads for it,” Birol said.
If spending on grids stayed at current levels, the chance of holding the global increase in average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the goal set by the 2015 Paris climate accords — “is going to be diminished substantially,” he said.
The IEA assessment of electricity grids around the globe found that achieving the climate goals set by the world's governments would require adding or refurbishing 80 million kilometers (50 million miles) of power lines by 2040 — an amount equal to the existing global grid in less than two decades.
Annual investment has been stagnant but needs to double to more than $600 billion a year by 2030, the agency said.
It's not uncommon for a single high-voltage overhead power line to take five to 13 years to get approved through bureaucracy in advanced economies, while lead times are significantly shorter in China and India, according to the IEA.
The report cited the South Link transmission project to carry wind power from northern to southern Germany. First planned in 2014, it was delayed after political opposition to an overhead line meant it was buried instead. Completion is expected in 2028 instead of 2022.
Other important projects that have been held up: the 400-kilometer (250-mile) Bay of Biscay connector between Spain and France, now expected for 2028 instead of 2025, and the SunZia high-voltage line to bring wind power from New Mexico to Arizona and California. Construction started only last month after years of delays.
On the East Coast, the Avangrid line to bring hydropower from Canada to New England was interrupted in 2021 following a referendum in Maine. A court overturned the statewide vote rejecting the project in April.
IEA: World must add 50,000 miles of power lines by 2040 to hit climate targets
Tue, October 17, 2023
The world must double existing power grid networks to 100,000 miles globally by 2040 to avoid missing the internationally agreed temperature rise targets and eroding energy security, the International Energy Agency warned Tuesday.
File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The world must double existing power grid networks to 100,000 miles globally by 2040 to avoid missing the internationally agreed 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise target and eroding energy security, the International Energy Agency warned Tuesday.
Efforts to combat climate change and guarantee electricity supplies could be at risk unless policymakers and businesses take immediate action, including adding 50,000 miles of new grids, to cope with a demand surge from additional electricity production as the world transitions away from fossil fuels, the IEA said in a news release.
In what the IEA said was the first-of-its-kind stocktake report of grids around the world, the inter-governmental agency said it had found they were failing to keep pace with the rapid growth of key clean energy technologies such as solar, wind, electric cars and heat pumps.
"Without greater policy attention and investment, shortfalls in the reach and quality of grid infrastructure could put the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius out of reach and undermine energy security," it said.
Achieving all national climate and energy goals required adding or replacing 100,000 miles of power lines by 2040 -- an amount equal to the entire existing global grid -- according to country-by-country in-depth analysis carried out for the report.
With investment in new grids largely flat, funding needed to begin to be invested with a doubling of spending on grids to more than $600 billion required by 2030 as well as building resilience through digitalization of distribution grids and providing flexibility through demand response and energy storage.
Renewable projects nearing completion slated to produce 1,500 gigawatts of electricity -- equivalent to five times the amount of solar and wind capacity that was added worldwide in 2022 -- are awaiting connection to the grid.
"The recent clean energy progress we have seen in many countries is unprecedented and cause for optimism, but it could be put in jeopardy if governments and businesses do not come together to ensure the world's electricity grids are ready for the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
"This report shows what's at stake and needs to be done. We must invest in grids today or face gridlock tomorrow."
A scenario tested in the report that examined what would happen if slow grid investment and regulatory reforms hampered the rollout of renewables found cumulative CO2 emissions between 2030 and 2050 would be almost 60 billion tons higher due to additional fossil fuel consumption equal to the global power sector's total CO2 emissions since 2019.
The extra CO2 would put the global temperature rise well above the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a 40% chance of exceeding 2 degrees Celsius, the IEA warned.
The need for decisive action was urgent because modernizing and extending grids takes as much as 15 years from planning and commissioning to going live compared with 1 to 5 years for new renewables projects and less than 2 years for new charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Stronger international cooperation was vital given the shrinkage in investment in recent years in emerging and developing economies -- China excepted -- despite strong growth in demand for electricity demand.
"Ensuring the developing world has the resources it needs to build and modernize electricity grids is an essential task for the international community," Birol said.
"By mobilizing financing, providing access to technology and sharing best practices on policies, leading economies can help improve people's lives, strengthen sustainable development and reduce the risks of climate change."
Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The world must double existing power grid networks to 100,000 miles globally by 2040 to avoid missing the internationally agreed 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise target and eroding energy security, the International Energy Agency warned Tuesday.
Efforts to combat climate change and guarantee electricity supplies could be at risk unless policymakers and businesses take immediate action, including adding 50,000 miles of new grids, to cope with a demand surge from additional electricity production as the world transitions away from fossil fuels, the IEA said in a news release.
In what the IEA said was the first-of-its-kind stocktake report of grids around the world, the inter-governmental agency said it had found they were failing to keep pace with the rapid growth of key clean energy technologies such as solar, wind, electric cars and heat pumps.
"Without greater policy attention and investment, shortfalls in the reach and quality of grid infrastructure could put the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius out of reach and undermine energy security," it said.
Achieving all national climate and energy goals required adding or replacing 100,000 miles of power lines by 2040 -- an amount equal to the entire existing global grid -- according to country-by-country in-depth analysis carried out for the report.
With investment in new grids largely flat, funding needed to begin to be invested with a doubling of spending on grids to more than $600 billion required by 2030 as well as building resilience through digitalization of distribution grids and providing flexibility through demand response and energy storage.
Renewable projects nearing completion slated to produce 1,500 gigawatts of electricity -- equivalent to five times the amount of solar and wind capacity that was added worldwide in 2022 -- are awaiting connection to the grid.
"The recent clean energy progress we have seen in many countries is unprecedented and cause for optimism, but it could be put in jeopardy if governments and businesses do not come together to ensure the world's electricity grids are ready for the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
"This report shows what's at stake and needs to be done. We must invest in grids today or face gridlock tomorrow."
A scenario tested in the report that examined what would happen if slow grid investment and regulatory reforms hampered the rollout of renewables found cumulative CO2 emissions between 2030 and 2050 would be almost 60 billion tons higher due to additional fossil fuel consumption equal to the global power sector's total CO2 emissions since 2019.
The extra CO2 would put the global temperature rise well above the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a 40% chance of exceeding 2 degrees Celsius, the IEA warned.
The need for decisive action was urgent because modernizing and extending grids takes as much as 15 years from planning and commissioning to going live compared with 1 to 5 years for new renewables projects and less than 2 years for new charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Stronger international cooperation was vital given the shrinkage in investment in recent years in emerging and developing economies -- China excepted -- despite strong growth in demand for electricity demand.
"Ensuring the developing world has the resources it needs to build and modernize electricity grids is an essential task for the international community," Birol said.
"By mobilizing financing, providing access to technology and sharing best practices on policies, leading economies can help improve people's lives, strengthen sustainable development and reduce the risks of climate change."
We're Screwed If We Don't Get Serious About Replacing And Upgrading Our Aging Power Grid
Collin Woodard
Tue, October 17, 2023
Unfortunately for those of us currently stuck living on planet Earth, climate change is real, and human activity caused it. And if we don’t do anything about it, millions of people are going to suffer and die unnecessarily. So moving away from fossil fuels is an incredibly important mission, and being able to use clean, sustainable fuel sources is a big part of that. At the same time, though, we also desperately need to upgrade our electrical grid if that’s ever going to be possible.
The Verge reports that the International Energy Agency recently released a report that found “[g]overnments and utilities need to add or replace the equivalent of virtually all the world’s power grids by 2040 to reliably keep the lights on while cleaning up pollution from the power sector.” Yes, you read that right. Basically, the whole thing needs an overhaul, with about 50 million miles of infrastructure needing significant upgrades. And if that doesn’t happen, it’s highly likely that climate-related disasters will only continue to get worse, displacing or killing millions of people.
“The recent clean energy progress we have seen in many countries is unprecedented and cause for optimism, but it could be put in jeopardy if governments and businesses do not come together to ensure the world’s electricity grids are ready for the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a press release.
Connecting new solar and wind farms to the grid has been a major bottleneck. The report found 1,500 gigawatts’ worth of advanced projects, five times the global solar and wind capacity added last year, “waiting for the green light.” In the US, it takes an average of five years for a new energy project to connect to the grid. It’s a problem the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is trying to tackle by changing its process for reviewing new energy projects
It would be great if this was something one genius could solve, but sadly, upgrading the global electrical grid is going to take an incredible amount of cooperation, as well as money. And while there have certainly been some positive developments lately, actually making it happen on the kind of scale that’s needed to address the seriousness of the problem is going to be a huge challenge. Considering how many people in the U.S. see limiting future climate disasters as a partisan talking point, it’s hard to be optimistic. You never know, though, there’s always the chance, no matter how small, that we might actually pull this off and create a better future for our children and grandchildren.
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