# Understanding the transmission bottleneck

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2023-05-04
- Length: 41m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck

## Summary

Rob Gramlich, founder and president of Grid Strategies, explains the three major bottlenecks hindering the U.S. energy transition: transmission congestion, interconnection delays, and insufficient buildout. He details how congestion costs doubled from 2020 to 2021 and how interconnection timelines have stretched to over four years with costs exceeding $300/kW due to flawed generator-by-generator study processes. Gramlich argues that the grid is the primary constraint on decarbonization, citing that 80% of IRA carbon reductions could be lost without new transmission, and points to past successes like ERCOT’s CREZ and MISO’s MVPs as proof that proactive planning, permitting, and cost allocation can solve these issues.

## Chapters

- [2:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck#t=132) Introduction and Historical Context of U.S. Transmission
- [10:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck#t=625) The Crisis of Transmission Congestion and Costs
- [19:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck#t=1169) The Broken Interconnection Queue Process
- [29:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck#t=1761) Solutions: Planning, Permitting, and Paying
- [35:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck#t=2139) Political Challenges and Future Outlook

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Grid Strategies (company)
- ERCOT (company)
- MISO (company)
- FERC (company)
- Energy Hub (company)
- CREZ (product)
- Inflation Reduction Act (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Plasma Tunnel Boring Machines to Revolutionize Energy Transmission: Insights from Troy Helming, Founder and CEO of EarthGrid](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-06-20-plasma-tunnel-boring-machines-to-revolutionize-energy-transmission-insights-from) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [142. Decarbonizing with Energy Modeling](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-03-142-decarbonizing-with-energy-modeling) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Renewable Energy Policy with Ari Gerstman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-05-02-renewable-energy-policy-with-ari-gerstman) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-04-understanding-the-transmission-bottleneck. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.