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Modernizing the U.S. Energy System: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Path Forward
Find out more about the briefings in this series below:
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for a briefing series about the climate benefits of modernizing the nation’s energy system.
The U.S. electric grid started in 1882, with the construction of the first central generating station in New York. Today, it comprises over 7,700 power plants and transformers delivering electricity to millions of customers over 2.7 million miles of transmission lines. More than 160,500 miles of pipelines deliver oil and gas for heating, transportation, and other basic necessities. Today’s energy system faces new challenges in delivering affordable and reliable energy to customers. Energy system managers from the local to the federal level must account for technological innovations and new security threats, and must make decisions that both adapt to changing climate conditions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Panelists will discuss the state of play for the nation’s energy system and present opportunities for improvement using real-world examples of solutions in action. Panelists will also discuss the role of Congress, the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and state and local entities in creating the energy system of tomorrow.
As renewable energy infrastructure is scaled up across the country, moving that energy from where it is generated to the people who will use it is critical to meeting the country’s decarbonization goals. Investments in the transmission network will not only build demand for renewable energy use, but will also create jobs, increase the grid’s efficiency, and lower costs for consumers. Panelists will discuss what is needed to modernize the transmission network, including developing transmission infrastructure for offshore wind and increasing cooperation between states. The briefing will also cover how the transmission network can be constructed and maintained to maximize ecosystem conservation, respect Tribal lands, and increase the resilience of neighboring communities.
The energy system is rapidly transforming, especially at the “grid edge” where “smart” building technologies, electric vehicles, and distributed energy generation combine and interact in new ways. These innovations provide opportunities to re-envision the nation’s energy system and how we use, store, and move energy around the country. They also create new ways to increase the resilience of people, communities, and the system itself without increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Briefing panelists will discuss policy opportunities such as a federal energy efficiency resource standard, state level efforts, and the nexus between buildings, transportation, energy storage, and the grid.
For more information, contact Dan O'Brien at dobrien@eesi.org or (202) 662-1880.
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