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If transmitting power was more efficient we could just have solar in the lit time zones powering those in the dark.
by london888 10y ago
If transmitting power was more efficient we could just have solar in the lit time zones powering those in the dark.
- neolefty 10y agoExactly. With our current techniques -- high-voltage or superconducting lines -- as I understand it, it's more expensive to transmit than to generate "locally" (within a few hundred miles?). I'd be curious to see the tradeoff (1) researched better and (2) visualized quantitatively.
- niftich 10y agoSorry I don't have exact numbers for you, but there do exist some very long HVDC lines [1]. The longest as of writing is in Brazil at 2385 km. There is a fairly long one in the US at 1360 km between the Columbia River Gorge and the Los Angeles basin [2]. But given that the solar terminator moves at about cos(latitude) * 1668 km / h (so slower towards the poles), even at a generous mid-Europe latitude of 45° N it'd be moving at 1180 km / h, giving you only a 2-hour window to make use of such a scheme with the HDVC lengths we have now. But hours before sunset, you're probably not at peak solar production anyway. [1] http://www.power-technology.com/features/featurethe-worlds-longest-power-transmission-lines-4167964/ http://www.power-technology.com/features/featurethe-worlds-l... [2] http://new.abb.com/systems/hvdc/references/pacific-intertie http://new.abb.com/systems/hvdc/references/pacific-intertie
- ams6110 10y agoThat's not the only problem. You'd have to get the cooperation of many different countries who don't necessarily like each other. The political obstacles would be greater than the technical.
- aaron695 10y agohttp://www.sciencealert.com/the-benefits-of-an-intercontinental-energy-grid http://www.sciencealert.com/the-benefits-of-an-intercontinen...