Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism
CT VIEWPOINTS -- opinions from around Connecticut

Investment in electric grid infrastructure is critical to economic progress

How public dollars can upgrade broadband and the grid at the same time

  • CT Viewpoints
  • by Elin Swanson Katz, Joshua Broder and Clarke Bruno
  • February 22, 2021
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

As the country enters a new era, it finds itself behind in the infrastructure that will shape its future: broadband and the electric grid. A lack of investment in the wires and cables we take for granted threatens our economic growth. Fortunately, we can maximize the impact of public dollars through coordinated upgrades of our electric system and broadband infrastructure.

Our electric grid is inadequate for increasing amounts of renewable energy and our broadband infrastructure is overcome by the number of us who depend upon it for physical and economic survival.

What many do not realize is that the foundation for electricity and broadband are the same: they are both delivered via utility poles, wires, underground conduit, and increasingly, sub-sea cables.  A major federal investment in that joint use infrastructure — the magnitude as seen in earlier economic crises — would create millions of new jobs, harness the power of renewable energy, and bring equal access to education, telehealth, government services, employment opportunities, and the digital economy delivered by the Internet.

Yet the reality of our infrastructure shortcomings is severe. The United States ranks 43rd in the world in internet bandwidth available per user, among the slowest in the developed world. Our Digital Divide separates those with quality broadband access from those without it, felt most acutely in rural, low-income, and minority communities.  In Connecticut, the pandemic has brought the “Homework Gap” – the students without reliable, affordable broadband to complete mandatory online schooling – into stark relief.

There are two Americas online today: the 60 million Americans with fiber broadband with speeds at a gigabit or more via fiber optic or 5G that allow full participation in our society and economy, and the rest of the country stuck with old copper based systems that might be enough to watch a pixilated movie, but are not enough to attend their boss’s video conference, participate fully in  a Zoom classroom meeting, or have an uninterrupted doctor’s appointment with a crisp image. The cable industry fills a gap for some currently but cannot reliably deliver the gigabit speeds needed for the future.

Meanwhile, as the U.S. faces the existential challenge of global warming, its electric grid is becoming outmoded, lacking the capacity to harness the full potential of wind and solar energy. The renewable technology is abundant, but not abundant is the infrastructure to bring it to our homes.

These fundamental challenges from an under-investment in basic infrastructure should be one of the top priorities of the Biden Administration. Modernizing New England’s internet and electrical grid is the best way to power the recovery from COVID-19 and build a more resilient and sustainable economic future.

Many states are funding broadband upgrades using the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), including Gov. Ned Lamont’s $43.5 million Everybody Learns initiative. However, deep inequities remain, creating glaring disadvantages for the digital have-nots in the region, and support from the federal government is needed.

New England’s own grid lacks the capacity to meet the needs of the future, still largely relying on the century-old approach of burning fossil fuel to spin a generator.  It remains dependent on natural gas for reliability, while ever-cheaper wind and solar power – coupled with advanced batteries – can boost reliability and gradually replace fossil fuel power plant emissions, and the pollution that exacerbates COVID 19.

New England’s blustery winds – both onshore and offshore – promise abundant, affordable renewable power. However, the grid must be updated to bring wind energy to population centers from wind farms in Maine and the skyscraper-sized wind turbines planned for south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Encouragingly, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Governor’s Council on Climate Change both recommend addressing grid constraints that hinder renewable energy development – and exploring an “ocean grid” as well.

The region’s governors developed a bipartisan vision for reforming the way we plan and operate the grid, and must now build transmission through competitive processes that save money. We need to layer broadband investments into that vision.  The federal government can use incentives to mobilize private investment and play an overarching convenor role for projects that span state borders.

The new era should be defined in part by ubiquitous broadband availability, energy equity and environmental stewardship — in New England and beyond. The need is clear.  What’s needed now is leadership.

Joshua Broder is the CEO of Tilson, headquartered in Portland, Maine, with an office in Greater Hartford. Clarke Bruno is the CEO of Anbaric, based in Wakefield, Mass.  Elin Swanson Katz is the VP of Utilities for Tilson and the former Connecticut Consumer Counsel.

CTViewpoints welcomes rebuttal or opposing views to this and all its commentaries. Read our guidelines and submit your commentary here.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Gas pipeline will threaten water quality, wildlife and wetlands
by Susan Eastwood

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has granted tentative approval of the 401 water quality certification for the Pomfret to Killingly natural gas pipeline. I urge DEEP to deny the 401 certification, as the proposed pipeline would violate the Connecticut’s water quality standards, and the conditions in the draft certification fail to protect our streams, wetlands, and wildlife.

Connecticut and the other Connecticut. Which will endure?
by Ezra Kaprov

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Connecticut’? Possibly, you think of a 43-year-old Puerto Rican man who arrived here with his family following Hurricane Maria. He works full-time as a machinist at the Sikorsky plant, and he coaches a prizefighter on the side.

COVID-19 increases urgency for legislature to pass medical aid-in-dying law
by Dr. Gary Blick

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the profound tragedy of loved ones dying alone, in a hospital or nursing home, without the care and comfort of loved ones surrounding them. This pandemic also demonstrates the fragility of life, the limits of modern medicine to relieve suffering, and has magnified the systemic racial disparities in our healthcare system, resulting in higher hospitalization and death rates for people in communities of color. We must eradicate these disparities, so everyone has equal access to the full range of end-of-life care options.

Three fallacies and the truth about vaccines
by Kerri M. Raissian, Ph.D. and Dr. Jody Terranova

Connecticut’s Public Health Committee recently heard public testimony regarding HB6423 and SB568 --  bills that would remove the religious exemption (the medical exemption would rightfully remain in place) from vaccination in order to attend school.  The religious exemption allows parents to effectively opt their children out of vaccines. In doing so, these families can still send their children to Connecticut’s schools, daycares, colleges, and camps.  This places other children at risk of contracting vaccine-preventable illnesses, and it is imperative the Connecticut legislature remove this exception.

The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Gas pipeline will threaten water quality, wildlife and wetlands
by Susan Eastwood

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has granted tentative approval of the 401 water quality certification for the Pomfret to Killingly natural gas pipeline. I urge DEEP to deny the 401 certification, as the proposed pipeline would violate the Connecticut’s water quality standards, and the conditions in the draft certification fail to protect our streams, wetlands, and wildlife.

Opinion Connecticut and the other Connecticut. Which will endure?
by Ezra Kaprov

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Connecticut’? Possibly, you think of a 43-year-old Puerto Rican man who arrived here with his family following Hurricane Maria. He works full-time as a machinist at the Sikorsky plant, and he coaches a prizefighter on the side.

Opinion COVID-19 increases urgency for legislature to pass medical aid-in-dying law
by Dr. Gary Blick

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the profound tragedy of loved ones dying alone, in a hospital or nursing home, without the care and comfort of loved ones surrounding them. This pandemic also demonstrates the fragility of life, the limits of modern medicine to relieve suffering, and has magnified the systemic racial disparities in our healthcare system, resulting in higher hospitalization and death rates for people in communities of color. We must eradicate these disparities, so everyone has equal access to the full range of end-of-life care options.

Opinion Three fallacies and the truth about vaccines
by Kerri M. Raissian, Ph.D. and Dr. Jody Terranova

Connecticut’s Public Health Committee recently heard public testimony regarding HB6423 and SB568 --  bills that would remove the religious exemption (the medical exemption would rightfully remain in place) from vaccination in order to attend school.  The religious exemption allows parents to effectively opt their children out of vaccines. In doing so, these families can still send their children to Connecticut’s schools, daycares, colleges, and camps.  This places other children at risk of contracting vaccine-preventable illnesses, and it is imperative the Connecticut legislature remove this exception.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO