Wind, solar, and the long line to connect to the electrical grid : Planet Money : NPR

Lyle Jack stands in front of an electrical substation on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where he's hoping to connect a wind farm to the power grid. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption

Lyle Jack stands in front of an electrical substation on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where he's hoping to connect a wind farm to the power grid.

The Pine Ridge Reservation is in the southwest corner of South Dakota, and it is windy. In fact, Lyle Jack realized his tribe, the Oglala Lakota Nation, and many other tribes in this area, could pay for lots of things they needed, just by harvesting some of that wind.

Which is why, for the past 20 years, Lyle has been trying to build a wind farm on the reservation. He's overcome a lot of hurdles, like persuading a majority of the tribes in South Dakota to join forces and form a company. They picked a spot to build the windmills where the wind blows hard and – crucially – where there's a power line. That will allow this wind farm to connect to the electric grid.

These power lines on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in South Dakota, would need to be rebuilt to carry electricity from a planned wind farm. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption

These power lines on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in South Dakota, would need to be rebuilt to carry electricity from a planned wind farm.

This is where Lyle ran into the obstacle that stopped his project in its tracks. So many people want to connect their new solar and wind projects to the grid right now that it's creating a massive traffic jam. All those projects are stuck in line: the interconnection queue.

On today's show: the long line for power lines. Green energy may be the future, but at the moment, the people who run the country's electric grid are trying to figure out how to bring all those new projects online. It's a high-tension tightrope act, but if they succeed, it could ensure the future of the planet. No pressure.

This episode was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Sally Helm, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Katherine Silva. Jess Jiang is our acting executive producer.

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Music: "Funky Reverie," "Inner Desert Blues" and "Blues Swagger."