The lack of regional and inter-regional transmission capacity to connect clean electricity generation sources to areas of high demand is a major challenge to the clean energy transition. Numerous studies have estimated that transmission capacity will need to increase dramatically to take full advantage of the growth of clean electricity sources that are planned to come online in the near future. However, building new transmission lines has proven to be politically and economically challenging. With this grant, researchers will study innovative approaches to increase electricity transmission capacity that go beyond building traditional new power lines. The team will explore two promising alternatives. The first is upgrading current power lines with advanced technologies to increase carrying capacity. The second is utilizing non-traditional rights-of-way—such as highways, rail corridors, and pipeline routes—to install high-voltage DC (HVDC) transmission lines, which can be more efficient for long-distance power transmission. The project consists of three phases: a comprehensive assessment of policy, economic and technological factors; in-depth analysis of specific interventions like HVDC installation; and creation of a multi-institution research consortium to advance this work. The team includes experts from multiple universities in behavioral science, public policy, energy modeling, and engineering, and industry practitioners from utilities and transmission operators will serve in advisory roles. The team plans to continue building out and expanding this interdisciplinary research network as it grows over time.