Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), told ADIPEC 2026 that infrastructure has become the main bottleneck for renewable power. Adding solar and wind capacity is only part of the job. Electricity still needs to move from where it is generated to where it is needed, through networks that can balance supply and demand as conditions change. La Camera called for more interconnected and flexible grids, backed by storage and other balancing resources. He also urged governments and multilateral financial institutions to direct more development support toward those networks.
Why More Generating Capacity Is Only Part of the Answer
La Camera pointed to China, where renewable generation has expanded rapidly and the ability to move and distribute that electricity has come under pressure. He said IRENA expected 2026 to be the first year in six without a new record for solar capacity additions, with growth elsewhere unlikely to offset the slowdown in China. At the same time, electricity demand had grown faster than expected, partly because of changing consumption patterns and the power needs of data centers supporting AI. Energy efficiency improvements had also fallen short of expectations.
That combination led La Camera to question whether even approaching the COP28 goal of tripling global renewable capacity to 11.2 terawatts by 2030 would be sufficient. He called for faster electrification in transport and buildings alongside stronger energy efficiency measures. He said IRENA was bringing an electrification proposal to COP31 and wanted the summit to give greater attention to the networks needed to make that shift work.
La Camera also framed renewables as an energy security issue. The pandemic and recent conflicts, he argued, exposed vulnerabilities in systems that rely heavily on centralized fossil fuel flows. More decentralized generation could help countries withstand some disruptions, although technologies such as batteries introduce dependencies of their own, including access to critical minerals. He pointed to recycling and technological improvements as ways to reduce those risks. His broader concern was whether countries could deliver reliable, affordable energy as demand grows.
Transmission Planning Needs to Start Earlier
Elyes San-Haji, Siemens Energy’s head of grid technologies for the Middle East, addressed the same challenge from a regional perspective in his article Electrification at Scale: Why the Grid Must Lead, Not Follow. Industrial electrification, manufacturing expansion, and new data centers are adding loads that utilities must account for alongside new generation. San-Haji argued that planning connections one project at a time can leave operators dealing with constraints that only become apparent after projects are connected.
Timing is one reason. San-Haji noted that new grid infrastructure can take five to fifteen years to plan, permit, and complete, while renewable projects and large electricity users can often be developed much faster. The International Energy Agency’s Electricity 2026 report puts the global backlog in perspective. More than 2,500 gigawatts of renewable generation, storage, and large-load projects are waiting in grid connection queues.
Image: High-voltage overhead lines run along a transmission corridor. Photo by Novoklimov
Geography adds another challenge. In the Middle East, areas with strong solar and wind resources can be far from major demand centers. San-Haji pointed to high-voltage direct current transmission as a way to move large amounts of power over long distances. He also highlighted flexible AC transmission systems, which help manage voltage and power flows as the generation mix changes. Alongside building new lines, he argued for modernizing existing networks through digital monitoring, predictive maintenance, and better asset management.
San-Haji cited ultra-sour gas development projects in Abu Dhabi as an example of how grid planning can support industrial electrification. High-voltage equipment delivers power from the existing transmission network to production fields, reducing the need for on-site fuel-based generation. For industrial users, the value of that connection depends on the reliability and quality of the power they receive over the life of the project.
What Grid Expansion Means for Transmission Corridor Monitoring
La Camera’s call for more interconnected grids and San-Haji’s emphasis on earlier transmission planning point to two tasks for utilities. New lines need to connect areas with strong renewable resources to the industrial sites, cities, and data centers that will use the power. Existing lines need to remain dependable while those new connections are planned, permitted, and built. Satellite monitoring can support both tasks, although planners and maintenance teams use the imagery to answer different questions.
Establish a baseline before construction begins
For a proposed transmission line, historical satellite imagery can help planners compare route options and identify where conditions have changed since the last survey. A route that looked clear in an earlier assessment may now cross an expanding industrial site, a newly built road, or an area where earthworks are underway. Reviewing those changes before sending survey teams into the field helps planners identify which sections need closer examination.
Once a route is selected, imagery collected before construction gives project teams a record of the corridor’s original condition. Subsequent images can help track where access roads, work areas, and tower sites have appeared. The same record gives maintenance teams a reference after commissioning, when they need to distinguish features left by the project from activity that began later.
Focus inspections on what has changed along existing lines
San-Haji’s argument for modernizing existing networks has a practical implication for maintenance teams. Along a long transmission corridor, conditions can change between scheduled patrols. A new excavation near a tower, construction below a span, or vegetation growth along an access route can each call for a different response.
Comparing satellite images over time helps teams locate those changes and assess them against tower locations, right-of-way boundaries, work permits, and past inspection records. For example, if new earthworks appear near a tower, the operator can check whether they fall within an approved work area and give the field crew coordinates and before-and-after imagery. If the imagery instead shows vegetation growth near a span, the next step may be a targeted drone survey to measure the clearance between the trees and the conductors.
Use targeted surveys to verify what imagery flags
Satellite imagery helps answer where conditions have changed. Drone-mounted LiDAR can then help answer how close vegetation or structures are to the conductors. By capturing the line and surrounding features in three dimensions, LiDAR gives inspection teams measurements they can compare with the utility’s clearance criteria. Where imagery flags excavation near a tower, a field inspection can establish whether the work affects access, drainage, or the ground around the foundation. The follow-up depends on the type of change and its location.
The inspection record becomes more useful when field findings feed back into it. If crews confirm that an excavation was authorized, clear vegetation, or find that a reported change needs further investigation, the result can be logged against the relevant tower or span. The next imagery review can then focus on new activity or check whether a previously identified condition has changed.
Utilities planning new routes or reviewing their inspection programs can contact STARPATH GLOBAL to match satellite image resolution and review frequency to the features they need to detect. For existing lines, STARPATH GLOBAL can deliver geolocated findings with before-and-after imagery and inspection priorities, giving field teams a concrete list of locations to verify.
