October 12, 2022

Building a grid of the future

Submitted by sempra_ben on

Lisa Larroque Alexander, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer of Sempra, speaks at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh

Hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission and distribution infrastructure lay across the United States, serving as the silent stewards of the energy transition. Further investment in this infrastructure is expected to underpin the nation’s ability to reach its climate goals — a topic highlighted at the Department of Energy’s Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh.

The inaugural event gathered industry leaders and public officials to showcase the strides that have been made toward a low-carbon future and call attention to the investment and progress that still awaits. Lisa Larroque Alexander, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer of Sempra, spoke at the event’s “Grid of the Future” program.

Electric vehicles, new forms of energy storage and green hydrogen all have something in common: a need for transmission and distribution infrastructure,” said Alexander. “Sempra builds and operates one of the largest energy networks in North America and we’re privileging sustainability in our business decisions by embracing innovative clean energy technologies, hardening our infrastructure in the face of severe weather, and balancing resilience as the energy transition continues.”

A Princeton University study estimates a 60% increase in investment is needed by the end of the decade to meet climate goals, requiring strong leadership from the public sector and private industry. Sempra is currently executing a capital plan at its U.S. utilities focused on safety, reliability and connecting customers to cleaner energy.

“The energy needs of customers are changing and public-private collaboration is essential to deploy capital to critical transmission and distribution infrastructure,” said Alexander. “We share the Department of Energy’s passion to advance U.S. climate goals and deliver cleaner energy solutions to customers in the U.S. and to allies around the world.”