Another Hurdle for Clean Energy

A completely new NATIONWIDE infrastructure would have to be made for Wind to be a viable power source...

Sigh

When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.
That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.
The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.
The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.

So for wind power to even produce any power we have to tear down the system we have and start from scratch? That'll take decades, and billions. Hell, by that point, we're spending more money than we're saving. How viable is an energy source that needs an entirely new infrastructure?