FEATURE
CABLE ROUTING AND POWER INTERCONNECTION Tools to Solve the Bottleneck
BY HERMANN KUGELER, GREG ROCHELEAU AND MATTHEW RICHWINE
W
ith vast wind and solar resource potential, the world is poised to harvest these renewable energies for a cleaner, more sustainable future. Wind and solar farms are mature technologies being deployed at ever increasing rates, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration projecting over 70 GW of newly installed wind and solar generation in 2023 and 2024, bringing non-hydro renewables from 15% of US generation in 2022 to 18% in 2024 with further increases in growth anticipated in the remainder of the decade and coming decades. However, this rapid growth is putting significant strain on the existing power transmission
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infrastructure, overloading transmission lines, and creating bottlenecks for queued renewable energy projects. The problem requires better tools for planning power injection, interconnection, and transmission. Where and how to connect new power generation systems on the grid, such as offshore wind, has significant implications for project cost and feasibility. The multi-disciplinary challenge of integrating these sources into the grid has created a severe bottleneck. The New York Times recently reported, in their June 12, 2023 article “Why the U.S. Electric Grid Isn’t Ready for the Energy Transition”, that while there are a multitude of challenges, “the problems start with