MEEPS: Modern Energy Pipelines
What if you could help solve climate change by simply choosing a better life? Well, now you can - but you have to opt in.
We’re fortunate to have the tools and technologies that can deliver cheap, clean, and abundant energy to all humanity. To make this happen though, we need the collective power that comes from acting as a group. Speaking as one voice ensures we are heard and creates the collective force needed to break from today’s climate status quo. Together, we create a brighter future for everyone. It’s time for each of us to opt in!
Many of us already take individual actions in our everyday lives to improve the planet such as recycling, eating a little less meat, and turning off lights - but to solve climate change, we need to think bigger. We need a new way to power our lives that also improves our lives, and the key to this is MEEPS: Modern Energy Pipelines. MEEPS are new energy pipelines that allow electricity traveling close to the speed of light to efficiently move from where it’s created to where it’s used. MEEPS enable any community, state, or country with solar, wind, water, batteries, or other elements of the clean energy infrastructure to plug into the modern energy system.
This matters to each of us for two important reasons. The first is that you will enjoy lower energy bills. With access to the lowest cost energy ever available - solar and wind - MEEPS allow us to power our lives and increase humanity’s wealth.
The second is that you will be part of a solution that improves life for billions of people by using energy that doesn’t continue polluting our environment.
One of these MEEPS, Viking Link, launched last month. It will transport enough electricity to power up to 2.5 million homes in the United Kingdom. Viking Link provides cheap, clean power that will save British families more than $600 Million U.S. dollars (£500 million British Pounds) over the next decade. It also provides the UK with increased energy security because it can get additional power from Denmark when needed.
Morocco is currently building a MEEP to provide almost 10% of all UK electricity needs. The Xlinks project is scheduled to become operational in early 2027 - and it will create 10,000 jobs in Morocco, including 2,000 permanent positions.
More globally, there’s a MEEP called the Asian Super Grid envisioned to connect China, South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, Russia, and Japan. This and other global MEEPS will be a key part of our modern energy future. Countries leading the way, like China, benefit from being a core part of this infrastructure. Others, including The United States, risk being left behind both economically and environmentally because MEEPS are critical to delivering cheap energy and to solving climate change’s ongoing impacts around the globe.
Energy systems are quite complex, but it’s important to be aware of one key technical component because it’s something you’ll hear about for many years. It’s called High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines. HVDC lines are important because they transmit clean electricity over long distances far more efficiently than traditional energy pipelines. With current technologies, they lose about 50% less energy than traditional Alternating Current (AC) systems. They also allow different energy systems to “talk to” each other so national systems (between Texas and Mississippi for example) and international systems (between Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America for example) are able to connect. These HVDC transmission lines allow us to create MEEPS as the backbone of our future global energy system. With HVDC, we can connect electricity where it’s generated to where it’s used in a way we’ve never been able to do before.
Time is of the essence, and success comes from our collective power because…
We accelerate progress by acting as a group. People across the political spectrum already know about the need to improve our climate. In the United States for example, 67% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, and 98% of Democrats “believe climate change is real and is a problem worth solving.” We should just stop using intentionally divisive language such as “kill coal”, “drill, baby, drill”, “tree huggers”, “MAGA Republicans”, etc. This kind of communication simply creates hate and slows progress. Instead, let’s unite around our shared desire for a better future which includes a modern energy system that lowers our bills and creates better lives for 8 billion people. The power we have as a group is the same power we use to break political roadblocks, prioritize economic investments, and build alignment around what matters most to humanity.
We impact business and political leaders by acting as a group. More energy from the sun hits the earth in ONE HOUR than is used by all of humanity in ONE YEAR. In 50 hours, the sun delivers more energy to earth than all remaining oil and natural gas on the planet. In 100 hours, the sun delivers more energy than all the remaining coal. The sun also creates wind as it heats the earth's surface. Clean energy is abundant, it can power us for generations, and we have the expertise to deliver solar and wind at lower costs. In Texas, for example, the average household saves almost $200 a year from renewable solar and wind energy. There’s no real mystery here. We have the tools and technologies we need. What we’re missing is decisiveness and speed. We need to build faster, and for this, we need our business leaders and political representatives to prioritize building a modern energy infrastructure. The longer we wait, the poorer we get, and the more we pollute the environment for ourselves and those we care about most around the world. Acting as a group breaks this status quo.
So it’s your turn. Will you opt in for a better life? You help solve climate change by being a spark helping to ignite the construction of MEEPS spanning continents and enabling an abundant and inclusive future. Yes, there are political hurdles to overcome. Yes, we need to work across states and across nations to make this future a reality. Yes, we have important economic decisions to make. But the solutions exist and the future is in our hands and in our hearts.
The sun has set on the era of division. It’s now rising to reveal the dawn of our new energy future. The decision is clear — let's build a future where all of us can enjoy cleaner air and be proud of the legacy we leave behind.
Some great reads for additional perspective:
