The U.S. SuperGrid: Powering America’s Energy Future | Climate Week Special Series | Solar Coaster

Welcome to The Solar Coaster Podcast’s Climate Week Special Series, where Anna Covert sits down with innovators and industry leaders exploring the future of clean energy, technology and our planet. Our special guest is Dr. Alexander “Sandy” MacDonald, an atmospheric scientist, former director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory, inventor of NOAA’s Science On a Sphere and CEO of American SuperGrid LLC. What if America could move electricity across the country as efficiently as goods travel along our interstate highways? Sandy joins Anna to discuss his vision for a nationwide high-voltage direct current (HVDC) SuperGrid and what it could mean for renewable energy, grid resilience and America’s energy future. **In this conversation, we explore:** * How Sandy’s career in meteorology led him to renewable energy. * His proposal for an underground, nationwide HVDC transmission network. * Why the Great Plains could play a major role in supplying electricity to other regions. * How the SuperGrid could work alongside existing utilities and AC infrastructure. * Opportunities for solar developers, wind farms and energy storage. * Extreme weather, cybersecurity and the importance of a resilient electric grid. * The technological, economic and policy challenges of building a national system. **GUEST LINKS** Dr. Alexander “Sandy” MacDonald on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-macdonald-6825667 The SuperGrid Working Group: https://americanenergyinitiative.net/ NOAA Science On a Sphere: https://sos.noaa.gov/about/history/ **THE SOLAR COASTER** Website and book: https://solarcoasterbook.com/ Buy *The Solar Coaster*: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSGKKV8X YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@solarcoasterbook **FOLLOW ANNA COVERT** Website: https://annacovert.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annacovert/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annacovert/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annacovert **SPONSORED BY SUN ENERGY TODAY** Sun Energy Today develops commercial solar, utility-scale and energy storage solutions. Website: https://sunenergytoday.com/ Commercial solar: https://sunenergytoday.com/commercial/ Utility-scale solar: https://sunenergytoday.com/utility-scale-solar/ Get started: https://sunenergytoday.com/get-started/ **LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS** Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28LLOtNEQj8ZoCZJqVOa7o Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-solar-coaster-podcast/id1832579656 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/342b84c9-ccb9-4cdb-99cc-ed6254503bfa/the-solar-coaster-podcast iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/292376116/ Subscribe for more conversations from our Climate Week Special Series featuring Chip Comins and Henk Rogers. #ClimateWeek #SolarCoaster #SuperGrid #SandyMacDonald #RenewableEnergy