Skip to main content
Climate
Search

Main navigation

  • Climate 101
    • What We Know
    • What Can Be Done
    • Climate Primer
  • Explore
    • Explainers
    • Ask MIT Climate
    • Podcast
    • For Educators
  • MIT Action
    • News
    • Events
    • Resources
  • Search
MIT

Main navigation

  • Climate 101
    • What We Know
    • What Can Be Done
    • Climate Primer
  • Explore
    • Explainers
    • Ask MIT Climate
    • Podcast
    • For Educators
  • MIT Action
    • News
    • Events
    • Resources
  • Search
PostAugust 6, 2021

The $1 trillion infrastructure bill is a baby step toward the US grid we need

Transmission lines with backdrop of sunset

Any effective plan to tackle climate change hinges on a basic technology: long wires strung across tall towers.

The US needs to add hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission lines in the coming decades to weave together fragmented regional power systems into an interconnected grid capable of supporting a massive influx of renewables.

A national network of short spur lines and long-distance, high-voltage wires would deliver wind, solar and hydroelectric power to where it’s needed when it’s available across the country. It could help provide reliable backup power when heat waves or winter storms cause regional power shortages, and keep up with soaring demands as homes and businesses increasingly come to rely on electricity to power their vehicles, heating systems, and more.

Read the full article at: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/05/1030733/the-1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-is-a-baby-step-toward-the-us-grid-we-need/

Image by: Getty

by MIT Technology Review
Topics
Cities & Planning
Energy
Electrification
Renewable Energy
Finance & Economics
Government & Policy

Related Posts

PodcastNovember 19, 2025

Energy storage is heating up

MIT Energy Initiative
PostNovember 14, 2025

PODCAST: Climate Reveal (Season 1, Episode 3) - Energy Essentials

MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy
Podcast: Climate Reveal
PostNovember 13, 2025

MIT/Harvard Roosevelt Project Releases Synthesis Report on U.S. Energy Tran...

MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
US flag with worker gloves
PostNovember 11, 2025

Geothermal Energy Networks: Transforming Our Thermal Energy System

MIT OCW
Illustration of different types of buildings connected together beneath the ground with a loop, having a long horizontal run and multiple vertical loops deeper into the ground.

MIT Climate News in Your Inbox

 
 

MIT Groups Log In

Log In

Footer

  • About
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
MIT Climate Project
MIT
Communicator Award Winner
Communicator Award Winner