The Future of the West's Power Grid
Leaders in both conservative and liberal states have long recognized the benefits of a region-wide market, aiming to create a coordinated grid that pools resources from 11 different states.
The goal is to share solar power from Arizona, wind from Wyoming, hydro from Washington, and battery storage from California, meeting the demands of the region and bolstering local power plants with surplus energy.
The shared resources would meet the demands of 11 different states, bolstering utilities’ local power plants with surplus energy from across the region.
Benefits and Challenges
Proponents of the regional energy market believe it has the potential to lower energy costs, make the grid more resilient, and speed up the deployment of clean energy.
- Lower energy costs
- Increased grid resilience
- Faster deployment of clean energy
However, the market's success depends on which states and utilities decide to opt in, with some skeptics worrying about merging power systems with varying climate goals.
Author's summary: A regional energy market is being created to pool resources from 11 states.