The U.S.’s energy consumption continues to increase each year, but the country might struggle to meet the growing power needs within the next quarter century. Trains, cars, homes, stores, schools, hospitals, offices, agriculture, and manufacturing compose most of the country’s energy consumption. It is estimated that the U.S. will need to produce more than 5,100 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity to continue powering the country effectively.
Power gives us the ability to have instant access to fuel, communicate with people no matter their location, be supplied with the necessities we need, and pay with ease. So without sufficient electricity, our lives will be completely disrupted. The country’s current power grid already has problems that result in lost power annually. But unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the infrastructure issue.
It would be ideal if we can completely renovate our power infrastructure, but that is not easy to accomplish. Much of the infrastructure was installed years ago, and critical parts such as the transformers and substations are soon going to be nonfunctional. Furthermore, the grid’s vast scale, expensive equipment, extensive interconnection queues, and long manufacturing lead times, make upgrading the infrastructure an even more challenging task.
Even so, finding other ways to get power, expediting the approval process of interconnection queues, and accelerating the production timeline can be beneficial to the nation’s infrastructure. By investing in a modernized power grid, the U.S. can supply the people with the power they need, improve energy costs, and encourage further economic development.
Source: ELSCO
