Electric Transmission & Distribution
America relies on an aging electrical grid and pipeline distribution systems, some of which originated in the 1880s. Investment in power transmission has increased since 2005, but ongoing permitting issues, weather events, and limited maintenance have contributed to an increasing number of failures and power interruptions. While demand for electricity has remained level, the availability of energy in the form of electricity, natural gas, and oil will become a greater challenge after 2020 as the population increases. Although about 17,000 miles of additional high-voltage transmission lines are planned over the next five years, permitting and siting issues threaten their completion.
Natural Gas Pipelines
The U.S. natural gas pipeline network is a highly integrated transmission and distribution grid that can transport natural gas to and from nearly any location in the lower 48 States. The natural gas pipeline grid comprises more than 210 natural gas pipeline systems, over 305,000 miles of interstate and intrastate transmission pipelines, more than 1,400 compressor stations that maintain pressure on the natural gas pipeline network and assure continuous forward movement of supplies
Oil & Liquid Fuels Pipelines
More than 180,000 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines traverse the United States. They connect producing areas to refineries and chemical plants while delivering the products American consumers and businesses need. Pipelines are safe, efficient and, because most are buried, largely unseen. They move crude oil from oil fields on land and offshore to refineries where it is turned into fuels and other products, then from the refineries to terminals where fuels are trucked to retail outlets. Pipelines operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Vehicle Fueling & Charging Facilities
Energy density and the cost, weight, and size of onboard energy storage are important characteristics of fuels for transportation. Fuels that require large, heavy, or expensive storage can reduce the space available to convey people and freight, weigh down a vehicle (making it operate less efficiently), or make it too costly to operate, even after taking account of cheaper fuels. Compared to gasoline and diesel, other options may have more energy per unit weight, but none have more energy per unit volume, and so these liquid fuels continue to fuel the vast majority of vehicles in Utah and nationwide. More than a dozen alternative fuels are in production or under development for use in alternative fuel vehicles and advanced technology vehicles. Government and private-sector vehicle fleets are the primary users of these fuels and vehicles, but consumers are increasingly interested in them. Using alternative fuels and advanced vehicles instead of conventional fuels and vehicles helps the United States reduce petroleum use and vehicle emissions.