U.S. Interior Secretary Says Smart Grid a National Imperative

by Climate Weekly – March 3, 2009

leaders gather at the national clean energy smart grid summit

Photo credit: Ralph Alswang

At a historic roundtable meeting involving many U.S. policymakers and others who want to increase renewable energy production across the nation, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said that the development of alternative energy and a "National Clean Energy Smart Grid" is an economic, environmental, and national security imperative.

National Clean Energy Project

The National Clean Energy Project summit was a half-day event that brought together high-level leaders involved in government, business, labor, and advocacy who are focused on "developing a plan and key guiding principles to lead the transformation of U.S. energy policy and to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil," the summit's website states. For more information, visit the National Clean Energy Project site. Also, check out the secretary's remarks on a national renewable energy grid.

Joined by former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens, and others at the National Clean Energy Project in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 23, Salazar noted that the interior department could play a dual role in the quest for renewable energy. "[F]irst with respect to siting and second with respect to transmission," Salazar said. "We manage 20 percent of the land mass of the United States and 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf," he said.

Where Renewable Energy Sources Lie

Salazar explained the importance of looking at the public lands and offshore areas that are under his department's jurisdiction, pointing out the "huge solar potential in the Southwest and a whole host of other items in the portfolio of renewable energy." He added, however, that those efforts will only be successful if the United States can adequately get the energy produced to the places where it will be consumed.

National Clean Energy Smart Grid The Answer?

This is where the smart grid comes into play. A national clean-energy smart grid would use long-distance, extra-high-voltage transmission lines to transport clean-energy to power-load centers. According to the Center for American Progress, this system will allow renewable energy to travel across the country and give consumers the chance to feed any excess power back to the grid for others' consumption.

"Unless we are able to deal with the transmission issue, we will be standing in place 5 or 10 years from now. It is appropriate for … Congress and President Obama to be absolutely focused like a laser beam on transmission," Salazar said.