The line is long...

The grid- a spiderweb of interconnected power plants and loads that is spread across the country.

It has grown over the years and is at a stage now where it has a capacity of nearly 1300 gigawatts of power…

But, our economy is energy hungry. We consume power like no other and our demand is only going up. As such, there are many planned upgrades to the grid and various power plants trying to come on line to address that demand.

I say ‘trying’ because, well, they are in line and waiting…

Turns out, in order to get connected to the grid it takes approval from a local authority. I am sure it is no surprise that this application process can take years and is bogged down with both red tape and the reality that new connections often require upgrades to the old grid.

Currently, according to the following article, there is a long line of backlogged connection applications- more than 2,000 gigawatts of energy capacity waiting to be connected.

“Wind and solar power generators wait in yearlong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can’t afford”

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/06/outdated-us-energy-grid-tons-of-clean-energy-stuck-waiting-in-line.html

As a homeowner, my choices are limited to my assigned utility- who controls all the above essentially and I just have to deal with it…

Unless I take the rooftop solar route- I can reduce my dependance on (if not divorce nearly completely from) them by shifting my monthly power bill into a solar power system that I own and control.

If I want to take it to the next level- a complete upgrade: I could add properly sized batteries (expensive!) and be as insulated nearly completely from their issues (or attempts to continually raise my prices unilaterally).

Anyways, rant over- if you are considering rooftop solar for your home or business I have a book coming soon that you might be interested in. Click here to be notified when I release Tucson Solar Insider Desk Guide for Buying Solar.

Be Good!
Curtis