On the transmission side, the problem is that there is enough to drain the transmission of electricity from renewable energy sources into the transmission and distribution networks. Because many renewable energy sources located in the very distant from load centers.
For now, there are some grid technologies that could be considered the developer network, ie HVDC and nano-tech wiring.
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC), although not a new concept, but in the United States to the attention of as many electrical energy sourced from renewable energy to be delivered to the load.
Another technology being developed is a cable or wire used for the transmission and distribution networks using nano technology. Dr. Wade Adams of Richard E. Smalley Institute said, in theory, nano-tech cable can drain up to 100 million amperes flows along thousands of miles without much loss of efficiency, and weighed only one-sixth of the electricity network cable is widely used today as well as very strong, so they do not need a support structure. It's just that the technology is still 10 to 15 years from commercialization. Cables in use today can only drain current of 2000 amperes hundreds of kilometers, with 6% - 8% loses
Distribution sector faces another problem, the meter and the rate burden that can arise in the presence of power plants small-scale renewable energy. That is, the system needs a'' smart grid''. To regulate and control the electricity goes into it, interactive control equipment, network monitoring, energy storage facilities and systems that can respond to the request needs to be applied.
Upgrading transmission and distribution infrastructure is not cheap and can not be done in the near future. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, the California energy think tank, the cost required for upgrading the network with smart'' technology'' of U.S. $ 100 billion. Electric provider and the network will pay dearly for such upgrading, as well as customers who will pay higher prices.
But, however, the amount of costs required to upgrade the economic impact comparable with that will happen in the event of grid failure. For example, in 2003 most of the northern United States experienced a black out and loss experienced by some U.S. $ 6 billion just for a few days.