Transmission Lines

Solar and Wind Energy

Outdated Grid Can Stymie Renewables

As more wind and solar plants get built in remote locations, utilities must figure out how to transport and store energy over increasingly vast distances.

December 23, 2021 - Wired

Green Hydrogen, Plus Storage, Key to Los Angeles' Plan for Carbon-Free Electricity

The Los Angeles municipal utility will convert a Utah coal power plant to run on natural gas in 2025. According to a proposal unveiled Dec. 10, the plant will incrementally be converted to run entirely on hydrogen, a zero-emission fuel, by 2045.

December 22, 2019 - Utility Dive

Feather River Dam

N.Y.C. Looking at Deal for Canadian Hydroelectricity

The city is considering a contract to purchase hydroelectricity from Quebec and might also provide funding for the energy infrastructure.

November 12, 2019 - Politico

Coal Power

Shuttering a Large Coal Plant: A Tale of Two States

Environmentalists in California are upset that Los Angeles will build a new 840-megawatt natural gas plant to replace a 1,800-megawatt coal plant. The coal plant has been crucial to the economic development of Millard County, Utah.

July 23, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Electricity Pylon

350-Mile Underground Electricity Transmission Line Would Connect Iowa to Chicago

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Jingoli Power, and Siemens Financial Services are pitching underground electricity transmission infrastructure for the midwest.

March 12, 2019 - Des Moines Register

163:365 - Green Energy

Five Key Energy Bills the California Legislature May Decide this Week

Energy stakeholders in California are watching five important bills to see which go forward with three weeks remaining in the legislative season. One would require the state to generate all electricity from renewable sources by 2045.

August 14, 2018 - The Desert Sun

Power Lines

The High Cost of Burying Power Lines

With speculation that downed power lines and exploding transformers may have caused California's most deadly and destructive wildfires, many question why utility companies don't bury these lines through fire-prone areas.

October 27, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Northern California Wilidfires

Wine Country Wildfires Put Spotlight on Transmission Lines

No cause has yet been attributed to California's deadliest wildfires, but the connections to fallen power lines and exploding transformers, maintained by PG&E, have been exposed in a series of reports by the Bay Area News Group.

October 23, 2017 - The Mercury News

An Island of 3.4 Million Living Off the Grid

Living off the grid usually refers to a lifestyle choice to live far from power lines and other basic infrastructure that most of civilization takes for granted—until a natural disaster wipes it all out.

October 9, 2017 - The New York Times

Puerto Rico

Without Basic Utilities, Puerto Rican Exodus Expected

Hurricane Maria left the flooded island of 3.4 million American citizens without power, communications, and running water, which may take months before they are restored. An exodus to Florida, which had begun before Maria hit, will likely accelerate.

September 27, 2017 - The Washington Post

Solar Power

Coal Country Warms-up to Solar Power

President Trump may be stuck in a past era of thriving coal mines, but at least one forward-thinking coal company sees lucrative opportunities in using reclaimed mountaintop strip mines as sites for solar farms.

April 23, 2017 - Courier-Journal

Wind farm and greenhouse gas farm, together

Why is Missouri Holding Up a High-Voltage Transmission Line for Wind Energy?

The 'Show Me State' nixed a 780-mile high voltage transmission line to carry wind energy generated in western Kansas through Missouri to Indiana, where it would transmitted to the East Coast.

June 29, 2016 - Columbia Daily Tribune

High-Voltage Power Lines Awaken the German NIMBY

Never mind that the lines are needed to carry renewable energy from wind turbines in the north to industries in the south to meet the nation's formidable carbon reduction policies. Public health and property values come first for some neighbors.

December 30, 2014 - The New York Times

Locals Peeved About New 'Clean' Scottish Power Lines

A 137-mile clean energy transmission line has been approved in the UK, connecting wind and wave power facilities near the coast. But some environmental groups are not happy about the plan.

January 7, 2010 - Guardian

New Power Grid Would Slice Through Rural Areas

Expanding America's power grid to connect wind and solar power plants to the urban areas they fuel will require thousands of miles of transmission lines. Most of it will be built in rural areas where locals are not likely to be very welcoming.

June 30, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.