Will Rogers, Converge Strategies, joined Dr. Arun Seraphin on Emerging Tech Horizons, produced by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)’s Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI).
BLUF. If the U.S. entered a major war today, the electric grid would be one of our most critical, yet most vulnerable, assets.
The Way Ahead. Will references Powering the Fight: Lessons from the Grid at War and the path forward it sets for policymakers, defense leaders, utilities, and grid operators to strengthen today’s grid and military planning.
Key themes from the conversation include:
Beyond The Battlefield. A projected 25% increase in grid demand by 2030, China adding the equivalent of a full U.S. electric grid every four years, and a structural communication gap between energy and defense stakeholders is compounding the risk to our electric grid.
History Backs The Concern. From WWI to WWII, transmission was the limiting factor in powering industrial production. Of 1,300 gigawatts of installed U.S. capacity today, only 85 GW can be transferred between regions.
Defense Stakeholders Must Be Involved. Our modern military operations rely heavily on a globally networked defense footprint tied to critical infrastructure systems. Defense stakeholders must understand the grid risks in their region and be involved with grid planning to ensure installations have the resources needed to execute critical missions regardless of adverse conditions.
Stable Financing Is Key. Transmission, generation, and distribution all require attention. We must upgrade existing infrastructure with advanced technologies while building new capacity in parallel. A nonpartisan commitment to de-risking private investment through consistent public financing is the enabling condition for all of it.