[hankman86]

But isn’t that the point of transmission lines - match supply and demand? Given a large enough region, there is going to be a place where renewable electricity can be produced. Case in point being offshore wind turbines where there are almost always strong winds to spin these. Moving this electricity to where it is consumed is a huge issue though. Existing power grids were created with centralised power stations in mind, which are usually located close to where the electricity will be needed.

[SmooL]

Yes, but transmission lines can only go so far, and you still lack the ability to arbitrage over time instead of just spatially. E.g. from a solar power POV, it's night everywhere in a given region at the same time.

[ben_w]

What do you believe the limits are to transmission lines?

[DennisP]

In the US we're especially bad at building new long-distance transmission. Some projects have languished for decades.

There are probably other places where it's difficult to get that large-enough region, for geographic or geopolitical reasons.