Read this post on Josh’s Substack: Powering Spaceship Earth.
Phillip Harris, previously the CEO of PJM, tells this story:
When I first became an engineer I remember the mentor I had said, “Well, Phil, you don’t have to worry too much about electricity.”
And I asked him why not? And he said, “Because it’s 75 years of tradition unmarred by the wheels of progress.”
On Monday, I’m moderating a fireside conversation with Harris. I have my set of questions, but what would you ask him?
If you want an introduction to Harris’s work and history, his pitch for the Tres Amigas project here is a start. It’s from 2010, yet touches on topics still in play today:
- The inherent vetocracy and sclerosis of a system that involves thousands of utilities and competing interest groups.
- The ways that demand-side management and flexibility could evolve to meet significant energy needs.
- How do you integrate solar and wind?
