Thread: NYTimes-US Power Grids Still "Third-World"

August 27, 2008
The Energy Challenge
Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits
By MATTHEW L. WALD
When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.

That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.

The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.

The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.

“We need an interstate transmission superhighway system,â€

Dugh? They pocketed the profits instead of re-investing into the system.

It would be nice if all the citizens would install solar panels on their roofs, and do all those other things to "help" this aged power grid. It would also keep a lot of dollars out of the pockets of the monopolistic utilities.