H.L. Mencken, the dyspeptic journalist and literary critic who had his heyday in Baltimore about a century ago, coined several memorable lines. Among his most enduring: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”

Mencken’s line came to mind after reading an editorial in the New York Times called “We Desperately Need a New Power Grid. Here’s How to Make It Happen.” The piece began: “To tap the potential of renewable energy, the United States needs to dramatically expand the electric grid between places with abundant wind and sunshine and places where people live and work. And it needs to happen fast…without new power lines, much of that electricity will continue to be generated by burning carbon.”

It cites a report published by the Department of Energy in February — the “National Transmission Needs Study” — which says the U.S. needs to build 47,300 gigawatt-miles of new power lines by 2035. That would, according to the agency, expand the existing transmission grid by 57%. The Times’ editorial writers claim that this build out can be fostered by putting “a single federal agency in charge of major transmission projects.” That agency, of course, is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The editorial then cites a bill introduced in March by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) that would create a new siting authority within FERC that would “ease” the regulatory process of building new transmission. The Times claims that “shifting decision-making from state and local governments to the federal government would create a single, national forum in which policymakers can weigh the costs and benefits of power projects.”