By Representative Greg Walden:
America has much to celebrate during this 250th year of our independence, but as the fireworks and flyovers subside, it’s time to get back to work addressing one of the most critical limiting factors of our future success: modernizing our aging energy infrastructure.
Having served as Chair of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, I saw firsthand how our outdated electrical grid limits our nation’s reindustrialization, supply chain strength, and the development of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).
Whether America wins the global race for AI leadership will depend not only on our innovators but also on whether we can generate, transmit, and deliver enough reliable electricity to power new technologies. The race for technological supremacy is fundamentally a race for geopolitical leadership.
While China powers forward with an advanced energy ecosystem, America lags well behind, hamstrung by transmission bottlenecks and bureaucratic red tape that delays new generation, slows grid connections, and stalls critical infrastructure projects.
The data show a stark contrast. Currently, 70% of American transmission lines are more than 25 years old, and there is now more energy capacity waiting to join the grid than there is total installed generating capacity online today.
By comparison, China generates twice as much electricity as the U.S. and outspends us on energy infrastructure by more than $300 billion annually. And their government is not hog-tied by overlapping and outdated permitting processes. That gap leaves America vulnerable to being outpaced in the defining technologies of our era.
Fortunately, the American public understands this. Across partisan lines, strong majorities support expanding national energy capacity to meet growing demand, including 70% of independents, 76% of Democrats, and 83% of MAGA Republicans.
Continue reading at Real Clear Energy.