Key Points
- Global investment in power grids remains far behind the growth of renewable energy.
- Britain’s electricity network hasn’t had a major update since the 1960s.
- The U.K. pays wind farms billions to stay offline to protect old wires.
- New green energy projects face wait times of up to ten years. Local protests and wildlife concerns often block or delay grid construction.
Nations everywhere are racing to install wind turbines and solar panels to power the planet and support new AI data centers. However, they have encountered a significant problem: our electricity grids are too old. In the U.S., ancient wires are blocking new projects. In Europe, big power surges are causing blackouts. Meanwhile, China is pulling ahead because it has built modern lines that can handle the massive energy needs of artificial intelligence.
The U.K. offers the perfect example of what happens when you ignore the grid. Britain has built a huge amount of renewable energy, but it hasn’t upgraded its main power lines since the 1960s. At the time, people were just starting to buy their first refrigerators. Today, the system is completely overwhelmed. Because the wires can’t carry all the wind power from Scotland to the people in the south, the government actually pays wind farms billions of dollars not to produce electricity. This prevents the grid from literally frying.
National Grid is now spending about $40 billion over the next five years to fix this, calling it “The Great Grid Upgrade.” This construction is costly and increases electricity bills further. Currently, a typical British family pays almost as much for electricity as an American family, even though the Americans use three times more energy.
Getting a new wind farm or battery site connected to the grid is another nightmare. In some cases, the wait is ten years. To fix this, the U.K. recently stopped its “first-come, first-served” policy and started fast-tracking projects that are actually ready to build.
But building new lines isn’t easy. Residents often hate seeing big metal towers, known as pylons, in the countryside. They are concerned about the noise and the impact on local wildlife such as bats and dormice.
National Grid has even had to build “bat barns” and noise barriers to obtain project approvals. One person even complained because a new line would be too close to a cottage featured in a famous 200-year-old painting. Without these upgrades, however, countries will struggle to lower bills or keep up with the global AI race.
