Solar, Storage, and Securing America’s Electric Grid

The Good Energy podcast takes a journey through the world of energy security in this conversation with Danielle Russo. She is the executive director of the Center for Grid Security at SAFE, a non-partisan organization that advocates for American energy policies to protect the country from the leverage of its adversaries. SAFE’s work is focused on policy education, guided by a team of retired 4-star generals and Fortune 500 CEOs.

Prior to joining SAFE, Russo worked as an analyst for the Department of Defense, evaluating their energy resilience posture. To her, energy security means consumers have access to the energy they need affordably and at any time of day. Moreover, affordable and reliable power is essential to powering technologies like artificial intelligence that are critical for fortifying national security.

The Need for Energy Addition 

Russo asserts that America is currently in an energy emergency and needs to take a tech-neutral approach to energy addition. She advocates for America to take advantage of all the domestic resources it has to create a resilient energy supply. She notes that the price of energy is a critical node for investment and production decisions made in other domestic industries.

In the current energy emergency, Russo names speed as the most important factor. The quicker that energy projects can come online, the better. As the fastest energy technologies to bring to fruition, solar and storage are going to be essential players in America’s energy addition efforts. Storage’s firmness allows large energy consumers to commence operations speedily and not have to wait for interconnection approvals.

Winning the AI Race 

Russo discusses SAFE’s recent report on the “electrification of defense,” in which many of America’s national security facets are utilizing AI—and subsequently electricity—to maximize their capabilities and accelerate sound decision-making. Furthermore, the winner of the AI race will have preeminent technology that can shape how the rest of the world thinks, making an American AI victory essential.

The AI race is going to come down to which country has enough energy generating capacity to power it. China is speeding past the U.S. in this department thanks to a rapid buildout of energy generation on the back of solar and storage. Since 2021 alone, China added an equivalent amount of generating capacity as the entire U.S. grid has in total. Russo emphasizes the importance of expanding transmission and reforming the energy permitting process to help America keep up.

Bringing Critical Supply Chains onto American Soil 

SAFE is deeply involved in the critical minerals sphere as the U.S. looks to onshore or “friendshore” needed materials for energy and other technologies. Russo points out the investments being made by solar and storage manufacturers to domestically source their materials. She explains how the existing landscape enables bottlenecks like the Strait of Hormuz, allowing adversarial nations to inflict outsized leverage. Sourcing and generating energy at home is essential to keeping the economy running and strengthening national security.

Russo concludes by lauding the domestic solar energy and the role they are playing in growing America’s economy and security. She notes that accelerating solar manufacturing is not only increasing generating capacity but also strengthening critical supply chains. The materials used in solar panels and projects are also used in other defense-critical industries that need secure supply chains.

About Good Energy

From in-depth interviews with industry leaders to insightful discussions on the rapid growth of solar and storage in the United States, Good Energy connects you with the heartbeat of the solar industry. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just curious about the future of energy, tune in to stay informed and inspired about the bright future of solar. Listen to full episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.