Ryan Alimento

Grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) is a pinch point in America’s transformer supply chain. Every transformer’s core is made of GOES, yet the US only has one steel mill that makes it. Folks assume expanding GOES production can onshore manufacturing and reduce multi-year transformer lead times. They’ve only told you half the story

In reality, our current crisis stems from decades of protectionism and technological stagnation made worse by a loophole in 2018 Section 232 tariffs. The US doesn’t need more GOES; it needs more of the right kind of GOES and a paradigm shift in industrial policy for the steel sector 🧵

I’m in IEEE Spectrum commenting on protectionist EU policies meant to “safeguard” European steel
makers against imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES).

GOES is used to make the cores of electric transformers. Though GOES is a type of steel, it is far from a commodity—Japan and South Korea produce higher qualities of GOES than anywhere else. Transformer manufacturers in the US or EU must thus import GOES from Japan or South Korea to make energy efficient transformers.

Yet the EU now joins the US in placing tariffs on GOES imports, an inappropriate use of trade policy that assumes all GOES is made equal.

Link to the fully story is commented below

PJM straddles the state-federal nexus. And it gets the worst of both worlds

FERC rejects some of PJM’s late load interconnection plan, saying it infringes on state authority

How old is the electric grid?

According to Wood Mac, Amazon, TIME, Reuters, and GE Vernova: "70% of transmission lines and transformers are over 25 years old"

According to yours truly: That statistic is 20+ years outdated. Stop circulating it

ryanalimento.substack.com/p/how-old-is-t…

We really oughta introduce students to nuclear science as early as middle school. No reason that kids who learn abt abstract concepts like the Big Bang and black holes can’t understand radioactive decay and EM at the same age