California’s new $7.3 billion grid modernization plan is a crucial step in furthering its ambitious climate goals.
The board of governors for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the state’s grid operator, recently approved a strategy to build thousands of miles of new high-voltage transmission lines. This step addresses a key challenge towards decarbonizing energy consumption: providing enough transmission to connect a massive amount of new clean energy sources to the grid.
Beefing up transmission capability is essential to meeting California’s goal of a carbon-free energy sector by 2045. What’s more, expanded grid capacity could result in lower electric bills for customers if the cost of clean energy generation technology continues to drop.
As more jurisdictions adopt building codes that ban natural gas hookups, and encourage adoption of heat pumps and EV chargers, the environmental benefits of such regulations depend on sourcing clean energy. A more robust grid that can assimilate new solar and wind farms makes this possible.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 90 Design-Build Construction Firms for 2023
Hensel Phelps, Ryan Companies US, Gray Construction, Haskell, and Burns & McDonnell top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest design-build construction firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 20 Public Library Construction Firms for 2023
Gilbane Building Company, Skanska USA, Manhattan Construction, McCownGordon Construction, and C.W. Driver Companies top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest public library general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 30 Public Library Engineering Firms for 2023
KPFF Consulting Engineers, Tetra Tech High Performance Buildings Group, Thornton Tomasetti, WSP, and Dewberry top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest public library engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 35 Performing Arts Center and Concert Venue Construction Firms for 2023
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Holder Construction, McCarthy Holdings, Clark Group, and Gilbane Building Company top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest performing arts center and concert venue general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 40 Museum Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Clark Group, Bancroft Construction, STO Building Group, and Alberici-Flintco top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Market Data | Feb 7, 2024
New download: BD+C's February 2024 Market Intelligence Report
Building Design+Construction's monthly Market Intelligence Report offers a snapshot of the health of the U.S. building construction industry, including the commercial, multifamily, institutional, and industrial building sectors. This report tracks the latest metrics related to construction spending, demand for design services, contractor backlogs, and material price trends.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2024
Top 40 Religious Facility Construction Firms for 2023
Crossland Construction, Haskell, Big-D Construction, Whiting-Turner, and JE Dunn Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 40 Entertainment Center, Cineplex, and Theme Park Construction Firms for 2023
ARCO Construction, Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner, PCL Construction Enterprises, and Balfour Beatty US top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest entertainment center, cineplex, and theme park general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 60 Shopping Mall, Big Box Store, and Strip Center Construction Firms for 2023
Whiting-Turner, Schimenti Construction, VCC, Ryan Companies US, and STO Building Group top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest shopping mall, big box store, and strip center general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Laboratories | Feb 5, 2024
DOE selects design-build team for laboratory focused on clean energy innovation
JE Dunn Construction and SmithGroup will construct the 127,000-sf Energy Materials and Processing at Scale (EMAPS) clean energy laboratory in Colorado to create a direct path from lab-scale innovations to pilot-scale production.
