3 ms·

There is another approximate solution to the baseload and storage problem: A global power network. Peak loads would balance themselves approximately with the

There is another approximate solution to the baseload and storage problem: A global power network. Peak loads would balance themselves approximately with the lack of need of energy at the opposite side of the earth. Also, wind and solar energy generation would vary much less on a global scale. Of course, there are calculations as to why this currently ineffective (AFAIK mainly loss of energy through transmission) but who knows when the next superconductor appears that could make it feasible. Economically, it shouldn't cost much more than an internet.

hvidgaard 10y ago
If power is transfered as high voltage DC, the loss is a lot less than what we're used to with AC. But I'm not sure it works all that well on a global scale. Transfering MWs of energy over thousands of km is not trivial by any metric.
ChuckMcM 10y ago
As long as we have superconductors, but we don't. It is currently impossible to move a megawatt[1] from Europe to the US over wires. Software has Amdahl's law, and electricity has Ohm's law. Even the smallest resistance adds up over distance and that translates into energy lost as heat. Early electrical engineers will say "But wait, we can raise the voltage, and that will reduce the current for the same amount of power!" which you can, but there is another constant, called the dielectric constant which is the point at which a voltage will "jump the gap" across an insulator to get to the other side. So you can't raise the voltage high enough in this cable to reduce current without it then jumping past any insulator you have into the ground. There are examples of "fixed loss" systems where your loss is independent of distance, one of those is to use your excess power to make a long chain hydrocarbon and then transport the hydrocarbon by supertanker and then burn it to convert it back into electricity. You could also simply charge giant battery ships which would then head over to the destination and discharge (this is another electricity -> chemical ... chemical -> electricity transaction) [1] I realize that is imprecise, the definition I'm using is put a megawatt of electrical power "in" (power cables) in Paris and pull a megawatt "out" of the other end in New York.
jabl 10y ago
IIRC current HVDC transmission technology reaches about 1% loss per 1000 km, so in that sense continent-wide grids are feasible without superconductors or some other "future" technology.

hvidgaard 10y ago

If power is transfered as high voltage DC, the loss is a lot less than what we're used to with AC. But I'm not sure it works all that well on a global scale. Transfering MWs of energy over thousands of km is not trivial by any metric.

ChuckMcM 10y ago

As long as we have superconductors, but we don't. It is currently impossible to move a megawatt[1] from Europe to the US over wires. Software has Amdahl's law, and electricity has Ohm's law. Even the smallest resistance adds up over distance and that translates into energy lost as heat. Early electrical engineers will say "But wait, we can raise the voltage, and that will reduce the current for the same amount of power!" which you can, but there is another constant, called the dielectric constant which is the point at which a voltage will "jump the gap" across an insulator to get to the other side. So you can't raise the voltage high enough in this cable to reduce current without it then jumping past any insulator you have into the ground. There are examples of "fixed loss" systems where your loss is independent of distance, one of those is to use your excess power to make a long chain hydrocarbon and then transport the hydrocarbon by supertanker and then burn it to convert it back into electricity. You could also simply charge giant battery ships which would then head over to the destination and discharge (this is another electricity -> chemical ... chemical -> electricity transaction) [1] I realize that is imprecise, the definition I'm using is put a megawatt of electrical power "in" (power cables) in Paris and pull a megawatt "out" of the other end in New York.

jabl 10y ago

IIRC current HVDC transmission technology reaches about 1% loss per 1000 km, so in that sense continent-wide grids are feasible without superconductors or some other "future" technology.