Skip to Content

Joining the Dots

December 21, 2010

Assembled piecemeal over the last 100 years or so, power-grid networks now span entire continents, with regional distribution grids stitched together through interconnects. Improving the ability of operators to balance variations in supply and demand will require the construction of new high-capacity transmission lines to share power over larger areas. Because Europe has a more uniform population density than the United States, fewer long-distance lines are required. In the United States, these lines are necessary to transfer renewable power from the windy heartland and sunny Southwest to the heavily populated coasts.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. 

The Biggest Questions: What is death?

New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.

Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist

An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.

How to fix the internet

If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.