Renewable energy vs. the electric grid - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 148

7 Renewable energy vs. the electric grid

As if opposition from neighbors, special interest groups, and competing
developers were not enough, challenges associated with the electric grid
are increasingly hindering renewable energy development as well. Even
the most promising wind and solar energy project sites are undevelopable
without a feasible way of delivering their generated power to end users.
For a variety of frustrating reasons, the existing electric transmission infra-
structure in many countries is all too often incapable of supporting new
wind and solar energy projects in regions with the best renewable energy
resources. Outmoded features of electric grids can also limit their ability
to accommodate rooftop solar energy systems, small wind turbines, and
other forms of distributed generation. Unless industry stakeholders find
ways around these challenges, grid constraints will continue to be a major
roadblock to the sustainable energy movement.
The grid-related conflicts that can slow growth in the renewable energy
sector come in three basic varieties. A first category of conflicts involves
transmission issues—difficulties relating to the delivery of electricity from
remote regions where large wind and solar energy projects tend to be sited
to metropolitan areas interested in purchasing that power. These trans-
mission obstacles exist because of the geographic realities of utility-scale
renewable energy development. Many of the world's most productive
renewable energy resources are in locations that are distant from major
population centers and the electricity infrastructure that supports those
areas. Expensive high-voltage transmission lines are the only practical
way to transmit power from these remote wind and solar farm sites to
consumers in bustling cities. Disputes over who will fund the massive
transmission expansion projects necessary to support renewable energy
are increasingly pitting governments against each other, often resulting in
standstills and inadequate levels of investment. Thick layers of regulatory
red tape and disagreements among governments about where new trans-
mission lines should be sited only exacerbate these problems.
A second category of grid-related conflicts involving renewable energy
consists of distribution issues—controversies resulting from the disruptive
impact that wind and solar energy systems can have on the day-to-day