Survey shows transmission lines are very unpopular

Hi @Joanne Leovy. I'd say that relative unpopularity is a key qualifier, because it was roughly one-third oppose, one-third support, one-third neutral. I think in most cases people don't really care about transmission lines, and that's fine.

What they do care about is not having to pay higher and higher electricity bills, and transmission lines can help with that. That's the key point we need to convince lawmakers about, because they're the ones making decisions about potential transmission permitting reforms. And I think there's an increasing awareness among MOCs about the importance of building more transmission lines.

@Dana Nuccitelli this story from Nevada explains how transmission construction is increasing ratepayer costs, at least in the short term. The unpopularity of our investor-owned utility is feeding into unpopularity of large scale transmission in our state. This puts tremendous pressure on lawmakers and community leaders who might understand the climate case for increasing transmission. I just think CCL should be aware of this dynamic.

Fair point @Joanne Leovy, there are certainly capital costs associated with building transmission lines, though they can save considerable money over time by moving cheap electricity around. One issue we've been trying to tackle in permitting reform is the cost allocation associated with big inter-regional transmission lines, to make sure the costs are apportioned fairly based on who's going to benefit.

@Joanne Leovy
Also “relatively unpopular” are traffic, gun violence, droughts, massive storms, homelessness, gas prices, the U.S. Congress and book banning, but American's are putting up with all of those things, so worrying about ugly transmission towers seems like not much of an issue.

@Michael Feeney the issue isn’t beauty/ugliness. It’s rising costs to households at a time when the price of goods and services is a central concern for most households, in a state where a high percent of households face energy poverty.

@Michelle Hamilton
Hi Michelle. I'm not sure many consumers, while duly upset about rising electric bills, point to new transmission lines as the culprit. They just make a visible political target along with “windmills” for those who want to stop renewables. I just listened to the Sept. 10 episode of the Shift Key podcast, which was about utility cost regulation. The data shows that (a) fluctuation in the cost fuel for electricity generation, and (b) an ever increasing need to grow and maintain the local utility distribution system, have much greater impact on consumer electric bills costs than the long-term investment in transmission infrastructure. But then facts often aren't facts these days.

@Joanne Leovy
I share your concern about public attitudes toward new renewable infrastructure.

CCL promotes permitting reform to speed up the glacial rate electrical transmission in the US. More high voltage transmission lines are crucial to connecting rural wind and solar installations to urban load centers and to interconnect regional grids to move electricity cross country.

Attitudes toward transmission and wind and solar development are divided across the rural / urban divide. The attitudes of urban Democrats don’t matter much when the construction takes place in the country.

As Ruhl and Saltzman noted in “When the Green New Deal Meets the Old Green Laws”: “Most people don’t like the idea of a gas pipeline or electric transmission line running through their backyard. Guess what? They don’t like the idea of wind turbines or solar panels in their back yard either.” “Abundance” page 95.

Rural communities have stopped many transmission projects, using the same laws invented by the environmental movement.

Just this year the DOE cancelled a $4.7 billion loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express, a high voltage DC line that would carry wind power from Kansas to Indiana. IMO, this was a terrible and partisan decision, a payback for the IRA.

Caught between opposition from the Left (opposition to NEPA reform) and the Right, climate activists have even more incentive to re-evaluate their more contentious and partisan policies and to seek true bipartisanship.

Here are some Google AI search results on “rural resistance to wind and transmission construction in the us”

Transmission lines:

• Distribution of costs and benefits: Residents in rural areas, where projects are sited, often bear the costs (visual, noise), while the energy and economic benefits flow primarily to urban centers.
• Lack of community involvement: When local residents do not feel they have a meaningful voice in the planning and decision-making process, it can trigger strong opposition.
• Passing-through costs: Transmission projects that simply pass through rural areas without directly benefiting local residents are especially difficult to site

Pew Research Center: