The US have set an ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 - what are the challenges in achieving that goal?

In this U.S.News article, the author writes about the challenges facing the US in trying to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions include building a transmission network capable of carrying power generated from both solar, wind and hydro. Wind and solar power generation will not always match demand, storage will be needed. Are large scale electricity storage facilities available? - not yet.

The structure of the 'grid' in the US would mean that the system needs to cope with the 'collection' of energy, storage and subsequent delivery to areas some distance from the source, perhaps importing and exporting between states to balance supply and demand - all to be done at the flick of a switch! Add in the financials of infrastructure investment, infrastructure permissions and agreements, income and competitive pricing and the problem becomes very complex indeed. Engineers needed!

Posted in Opinion & Environment and Sustainability

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