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We tend not to give the grid too much thought and yet these often weary copper webs are vital - carrying the proverbial lifeblood that keeps everything going. We took a look at the Western Interconnection, a whopping great big behemoth of a grid that spans a staggering 136,000 miles from Alberta to Mexico. We discovered that this isn't just about carrying electricity from where it's generated to where it's consumed in homes, businesses or industry, but rather a much more sophisticated balancing act that can allow strategic exchanges of clean, renewable energy across massive geographies and timezones. Send excess hydropower from British Columbia in the summer to help California when air conditioning is blasting, or send excess solar from California when the heating goes on in Canada. This approach not only reduces the number of new renewable energy assets to make the grid greener, but offers an intriguing insight into what a mega North America Macro Super Grid could look like! Who knew a pylon could be so fascinating?! Imogen investigates! 00:00 A Macro Grid? 00:53 Dealing with Intermittent Renewables 01:32 Swapping Clean Energy 02:09 Big Distances 02:40 Predicting the Future 04:35 Power Across The Border 05:35 AC DC 07:14 Seasonal Peaks 07:45 Sharing Renewables Nationally 09:45 The Contentious Bit 10:40 Doubling The Roll Out 11:27 What Next?! 11:52 A Greener Grid 12:29 Explore Further! Get your ticket for Fully Charged Canada in Vancouver: Visit our LIVE exhibitions in Australia, UK, USA, Canada & Europe: Become a Patreon: Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above Subscribe to Fully Charged & the Everything Electric channels Subscribe for episode alerts and the Fully Charged newsletter: Visit: Find us on Twitter: Follow us on Instagram: Support our STOP Burning Stuff Patreon: For Clean Energy and Home Tech take a look at the @EverythingElectricShow
