Jun 23, 2025
Why the Power Grid—Not Renewables—Is Holding Back Clean Energy
It is clear that renewables have a role in America's eventual energy independence. And if we are to ever substantially reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, that role needs to be greater still. But there are hurdles. The biggest one is the current grid's inability to accept more capacity from the renewable sector.
As Forbes contributor Ken Silverstein so eloquently pointed out in a recent post, the modern grid is a bottleneck. We have the ability to add a lot more capacity simply by promoting more renewables and speeding up nuclear deployment. But the grid simply cannot withstand much more.
A massive expansion of the grid is currently underway. Unimaginable amounts of money are being poured into both building new infrastructure and updating the old stuff. But energy demands are outpacing grid improvement. So what do we do?
Betting Big on Renewables
Silverstein reports that renewables are enjoying a ton of new investments. Investors are betting on a bright future to the tune of an estimated $2.2 trillion this year alone. They are pouring more than twice the amount into renewables as they are fossil fuels.
Investments in renewables are not limited to the U.S. either. Other countries are investing considerably as well. Believe it or not, China is leading the way with investments that are more than what the U.S. and EU are investing combined.
The need for renewables only looks to increase as we further develop digital technologies – particularly AI. Digital technologies are power hungry technologies. They require ever larger data centers with more processing power. Future data centers are projected to consume as much as 4% of all electricity globally by 2030.
Trillions are being invested in grid improvement. That seems like a lot, but we are still not keeping up. To understand just how stressed the grid is in some places, look no further than the UK.
Paying Producers to Not Produce
A recent storm off the northeast coast of Scotland produced enough wind to keep turbines running at full speed and powering as many as one million homes. It was the perfect scenario for pumping renewable energy to the mainland. There was only one problem: the turbines weren't operating.
The UK's power grid faces the same problems as our own. It was built to transmit fossil fuel-generated power to major cities. That is a hurdle in itself because more rural areas are left behind when push comes to shove. But things are made worse by the fact that the grid cannot support all the power being generated by renewables.
The UK is expected to pay in the neighborhood of £500 million, this year alone, in subsidies to power companies. The companies are being paid not to produce energy. Meanwhile, electricity bills in the UK are higher than ever before.
We Will Get There in Time
None of this is intended to paint a gloomy picture of renewables and their contribution to energy independence. The truth is that the grid is slow to change. Understandably, we have something that works, and we don't want to break it. We are in a precarious position now because the maturation of renewable energy is outpacing our ability to upgrade the grid.
We will get there in time. With patience and perseverance, we will grow, expand, and fortify the grid for generations to come. And as we add more capacity to it, renewables will play an ever-growing role in the total power we produce and consume. It is inevitable. For now, though, we need to make the best of the grid we have.
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