This article is about the “unloved” part of the electrical system transition.
Most of the industry focus is on the sophisticated equipment that is being rolled out – the renewable energy resources (wind and solar) – the energy storage devices (batteries, hydro, compressed air etc.) – the sophisticated software – the substation assets.
But there is another component we should not overlook – the transmission system.
This is typically portrayed as a line on a drawing.
The representation as “just a line” affects people in subtle psychological ways. It gives people permission to overlook and dismiss this factor as being unimportant – of being easy to solve – being easy to model.
