Antiquated power lines can’t carry the added electricity from new solar and wind projects.
In the near term, state governments need to treat this situation as the emergency it is. They already know where some of the worst bottlenecks are; the state commissions that regulate utilities should order rapid upgrades to resolve those. Unless states do this, they are at risk of losing out on the investment and tax revenue that new renewable energy projects will bring, not to mention the federal construction subsidies contained in the new climate law Congress passed this year.
The public can help, too. In every state, a public utility commission is charged with regulating the power business, and for too long the decisions of these bodies have flown under the radar. As the climate crisis worsens and our goals for limiting the damage slip farther out of reach, citizens need to show up and make clear to the utilities and their regulators that they want action now.