We are consuming several times more energy on a per capita basis now, even though we have made huge strides in the energy efficiency of our appliances and other devices.

This is about to change though. The coming wave of electrification of numerous sectors is going to reverse the declining trend of U.S. energy consumption that has been going on for the last 15 years. Some estimates say that in order to achieve our current electrification goals, we would need to double or even triple our grid’s capacity by 2035, which would cost trillions and would be an undertaking that would make the project to build the U.S. highway system seem tiny by comparison.

And while our grid is already one of the largest and most complex machines ever created, it needs to get even bigger. If we want to shift to more renewable energy, then we need the ability to move that energy from places in the country where it is prevalent (solar in the southwest), to parts of the country where it isn’t (northeast). Right now we don’t have this ability, but if we are going to make this shift, we need to figure it out.