Concerns About America's Energy Grid Are Growing. How Do We Fix It?
Catalyst Power Holdings LLC
Catalyst Power is an independent, integrated retail energy and distributed energy solutions provider.
Recent months have brought significant action within the U.S. renewable energy landscape. Government action, private investment, and activist movements are bringing new money and attention to a large-scale energy transition, making real strides toward putting clean power sources in place and eliminating the use of fossil fuels in America for good.
It’s good to see so many distinct stakeholders largely in agreement on their goal for the future of energy in our country. Of course, the road ahead is long. The hard work of translating new support into concrete resources has just begun, and we’ve found ourselves up against a complicated, aging behemoth of a problem that must be addressed if we want to continue moving forward: The U.S. energy grid.
The grid’s clear and daunting challenge is that we simply don’t have the right infrastructure to carry energy throughout the country as necessary. Recent events have already demonstrated that we’re already facing serious transmission issues with our existing energy sources. As utility-scale solar and wind projects come online, and patterns of energy flow shift throughout the country, the grid will need to carry significant amounts of power through regions that don’t have the necessary networks in place yet.
These shortcomings on the grid put businesses and residents across the country at an increased risk of power outages. They also threaten to hinder America’s progress toward a clean energy future. The International Energy Agency published a new report this month focusing entirely on grids and the role they play in our energy transition. It’s extensive and considers grid issues all around the world, but many of the key takeaways effectively summarize the most significant challenges posed by an ineffective U.S. grid:
Initial steps are being taken to address the looming issue. On October 18, the Department of Energy announced a commitment of nearly $3.5 billion for infrastructure upgrades on the U.S. power grid, an investment made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act. Among other initiatives, these funds are intended to establish five new large-scale transmission lines throughout the Midwest.
Resources allocated toward greater transmission capacity are a move in the right direction. It’s absolutely essential to strengthen the power grid and expand its capacities in a strategic manner, ensuring new transmission resources are funneled to the geographic regions where large-scale renewable energy production will soon be taking place.
At the same time, strengthening the grid is a costly and time-intensive endeavor–it. It can’t be the only solution. Decentralized energy sources are also a fundamentally important asset in constructing tomorrow’s energy systems.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Yes, a reimagined and reinforced energy grid is crucial. It’s also a massive, national-level undertaking that requires cooperation among a tremendous amount of stakeholders. The work will have to continue across years or even decades, leaving most day-to-day energy consumers without much control over what happens next.
Fortunately, the other piece of this energy puzzle—decentralized power—offers a much more direct solution for the everyday user. Technologies like Connected Microgrids allow individual consumers to choose an energy source that operates independently from the larger grid, making all of the associated concerns, timelines, and worst-case scenarios fade into the background.
We’re certainly not in the business of fear mongering or forecasting disasters where there aren’t any, but the reality is that we’ve recently seen extreme weather and surging power demand make many of those worst-case predictions come very close to reality. With that in mind, we’re here to advocate for sensible approaches that provide safeguards against catastrophic events and, even in the best of times, provide financial advantages to energy consumers.
With an on-site connection to solar energy through a Connected Microgrid, you’ll have the ability to produce power right on your property. You’ll also be tapping into a more affordable power source by locking in guaranteed low energy rates. You'll have the added benefit of knowing you’ve done your part to support America’s energy network, reducing the demand placed on our overburdened systems.
The opportunities of distributed energy are uniquely rich for middle-market businesses, which often have the right physical space for on-site energy generation and stand to see real financial benefits. A Connected Microgrid can be installed on-site, offering an easy path to solar energy production. In one step, it eliminates transmission concerns and benefits your budget. It’s unlikely that you need a reminder, but the reasons to avoid power outages reach far beyond mere inconvenience—they can end up being a tremendously expensive problem as well.
Outages can do real damage and businesses of all sizes should have access to resources that allow them to guard against future uncertainties related to the larger power grid. That’s why Catalyst Power remains committed to distributed energy generation for midsize companies, a market that has typically gone underserved. We want to give you the power to take action toward greater reliability and efficiency in your daily operations.
A more effective grid is a necessity, but it isn’t our only course of action by any means. We have the ability to establish stronger energy sources for ourselves right now, saving money and gaining confidence along the way. Get started with a Connected Microgrid and take the first step toward a cleaner, more reliable future.