Humans are hungry for power.
Everything in the world runs on electricity and power is in constant demand.
According toIEEE Spectrum, there are not enough of them.
Pole-Mounted Transformers.© shaunl Getty stock image.
A transformer does what the name suggests.
Its a critical piece of technology thats been in use for more than 100 years.
There aresmall transformersin your phone charger and enormous industrial transformers thattake up space in warehouses.
And the world cant make them fast enough.
The industry has been signaling this is a problem for the past year.
Its worse if you need a larger transformer.
With those, lead times can range from 80 to 210 weeks.
Multipletrade publicationsreleased warningsabout the transformer shortage following the report.
So why the shortage?
Demand is outstripping supply.
Raw material costs have doubled since 2020.
Many transformers use metals like copper and Grain Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES).
Copper prices have risen 50 percent since 2020.
The prices of both could increase even more after Trump takes office if he moves forward with proposed tariffs.
We import a lot of stuff we use to make transformers from out of the country.
Theres only one plant in the U.S. that manufactures GOES.
If that happens, itll make the transformer shortage worse.
Domestic manufacturers indicated that a lack of workers is one of the largest impediments to expanding capacity.
With distribution transformers in particular, manufacturers have found it necessary to add shifts to meet higher demand.
Were building a lot of power-hungry things in the U.S. Demand for power isnt going to shrink.
Big Tech thinks the answer isadvanced nuclear power plants.
Reformers want sustainable and renewable energy like wind and solar.
Oil and gas companies want to build carbon scrubbers and sell peoplegreenwashed versionsof the old methods.
But all of those methods rely on transformers and we simply arent building enough of them.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
