Renewable energy is often presented as a generation problem: build more solar panels, install more wind turbines, and produce more clean electricity. But generating that power is only the beginning.

Before a new renewable energy project can power homes and businesses, it has to connect to the electrical grid. That process can involve lengthy queues, infrastructure upgrades, and difficult decisions about where limited transmission capacity should go. Even after a project is connected, congestion on the grid can prevent it from sending all of the electricity it produces.

In this episode of Breakthrough Broadcast, I sit down with researcher Remi Akinwonmi to explore the challenges hiding between renewable energy generation and the people who actually use that electricity. We discuss why connecting new energy projects can take so long, what makes planning the electrical grid so unpredictable, and how optimization can help engineers make better decisions when the future is uncertain.

As renewable generation continues to grow, producing clean electricity will not be enough. We also need a grid capable of moving it. This episode explores what it will take to make that happen.