11 Maps That Explain Energy In America

7) All those power plants require a lot of transmission lines

Here’s a map of all the major (345 kV or more) transmission lines in the contiguous United States:

EIA-transmission-lines(Energy Information Administration)
Electric transmission lines (345 kV or more).

The regulation of the US power grid is insanely complicated — and it tends to be really tough to build big new transmission lines. If you want to transport electricity from a giant new wind farm out in the Great Plains to population centers, it’s not always easy.

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