Experts say 50 million miles of new power lines needed for green energy, and that may be impossible

Some estimates say the U.S. needs to build over 700,000 miles of transmission lines to reach its own renewable energy goals: enough to circle the globe 2,000 times. A 700-mile transmission line starting in Wyoming cost $3 billion and took 15 years to clear regulatory permits.

It’s one thing to try and replace fossil fuels with wind and solar power, but experts are saying the generation of power is only half the battle, and that the problems in getting that power to Americans may be insurmountable.

A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) concludes that the size of the global electricity grid will need to double by 2040, in order to reach global emission reductions targets in line with the Paris Agreement.

That means, the IEA says, the world will need to refurbish or add 50 million miles of new transmission lines within 17 years — the equivalent of circling the equator more than 2,000 times.

The IEA estimates that global investments in transmission capacity will need to double to $600 billion per year by 2030 in order to reach that goal.

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