I was camping in northern New Mexico recently and noticed powerlines in the most desolate, hard to reach places. How did/do we do this? Especially before the advent of modern heavy machinery and aircraft.
Thomas Hughes Networks of Power has references to early XX century efforts to expand electricity in the US
David Nye is also a historian that has written a lot on the electrification of America ( see “Electrifying America”)
This one I haven’t read but sounds interesting as well https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691139067/power-lines