๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐๐?
Aโ๏ธ450-wordโ๏ธ2.5-minuteโ๏ธread
As we enter a mid-term election year, affordability is a political focal point. As it pertains to climate change, the cost of electricity is front and center. Iโve written about this before, and will undoubtedly write about it again.
Data centers are an easy target, but far from the sole contributor to escalating costs. Another, and perhaps more impactful factor, is that for a prolonged period of time, we have under-invested in our grid. The growth in AI, data centers, and renewables, has prompted a rush to catch up on this lagging investment.
The state of New York is illustrative of the dynamics.
In 2023, New Yorkโs Public Utility Commission approved spending $4.3 billion on 62 transmission projects. Many of these projects are needed to move power from where itโs being generated, to where itโs actually used.
Projections indicate that the average residential household will pay between $32 and $64 more per year for these upgrades. That isnโt a huge amount of money, but itโs only one factor that is putting upward pressure on electric prices.
However, that isnโt the point I want to make today.
Todayโs point has to do with how and where renewable energy is developed. In New York most solar development is occurring in the northern-most and western -most parts of the state.
Why?
Because land is abundant, and itโs much less expensive to build projects in rural areas. In the southern part of the state, land is scarce and consequently prohibitively expensive.
Makes sense right?
If you support solar energy, yes.
The problem is that in New York - and many other states - weโre building power plants in areas where there is no need for power. ย These areas happen not to have the most robust infrastructure because the sparse population made it unnecessary.
The result: New York - and other states โ are spending money to move power from one region to another. And the only reason that is necessary is because itโs problematic to locate renewables in densely populated regions.
The end result is that renewables are driving infrastructure upgrades that wouldnโt otherwise be required if power projects were located near the population centers that use the power.
Supporters of renewable energy conveniently ignore this dynamic when they claim that renewables are not the reason why energy costs are increasing.
Thatโs not to say renewables are the primary cause of price increases. I doubt they are.
However, the need for inexpensive land to develop solar projects does necessitate additional infrastructure investments. And when assessing the cost benefits of renewables, those investments should be factored into the equation.
#solarenergy #renewables #electricgrid #utilityinfrastructure