3 ms·

Woah, didn't realize long distance transmission was that efficient. Now I'm curious how crazy of an idea it would be to build a global solar electrical network

Woah, didn't realize long distance transmission was that efficient. Now I'm curious how crazy of an idea it would be to build a global solar electrical network to obviate the need for batteries (the sun is almost always shining somewhere).

thebluehawk 8y ago
You do have to keep in mind the further losses in converting it back to low voltage AC using very large and expensive inverters / transformers.
- cma 8y ago
  That's a loss that doesn't scale with range though.
wongarsu 8y ago
On a smaller scale, putting solar panels in the Sahara Desert and run a big cable to Europe is frequently considered. Being in a desert removes most cloud cover, it's close to Europe, and the area required is miniscule even if you want to provide the entire area of Europe that way. The only problems are that the day-night cycle still exists and storage is expensive, that it would be a massive capital investment, and that the governments of most countries in the Sahara aren't very stable.
- toyg 8y ago
  Lybia had started doing exactly that, in 2009/2010: http://helioscsp.com/libya-unveils-project-to-supply-solar-power-to-europe/ http://helioscsp.com/libya-unveils-project-to-supply-solar-p... In 2011, France and the US forced a regime-change that resulted in civil war and de-facto partition of the country. I would expect most of that investment has been destroyed by now, and the security situation is unlikely to be stable enough to restart this sort of grand plan for at least a decade. In the meantime, Morocco (faithful French ally, an absolute monarchy with extremist-Islam undertones) started its own effort, which is now considered to be the largest solar-panel plant in the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station
surrealize 8y ago
I don't know if it'll happen, but it's been proposed, e.g. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/china-unveils-proposal-50-trillion-global-electricity-network-n548376 https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/china-unveils-propos...
Quanttek 8y ago
There was a project like that (though it failed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec

thebluehawk 8y ago

You do have to keep in mind the further losses in converting it back to low voltage AC using very large and expensive inverters / transformers.

cma 8y ago
That's a loss that doesn't scale with range though.

wongarsu 8y ago

On a smaller scale, putting solar panels in the Sahara Desert and run a big cable to Europe is frequently considered. Being in a desert removes most cloud cover, it's close to Europe, and the area required is miniscule even if you want to provide the entire area of Europe that way. The only problems are that the day-night cycle still exists and storage is expensive, that it would be a massive capital investment, and that the governments of most countries in the Sahara aren't very stable.

toyg 8y ago
Lybia had started doing exactly that, in 2009/2010: http://helioscsp.com/libya-unveils-project-to-supply-solar-power-to-europe/ http://helioscsp.com/libya-unveils-project-to-supply-solar-p... In 2011, France and the US forced a regime-change that resulted in civil war and de-facto partition of the country. I would expect most of that investment has been destroyed by now, and the security situation is unlikely to be stable enough to restart this sort of grand plan for at least a decade. In the meantime, Morocco (faithful French ally, an absolute monarchy with extremist-Islam undertones) started its own effort, which is now considered to be the largest solar-panel plant in the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station

surrealize 8y ago

I don't know if it'll happen, but it's been proposed, e.g. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/china-unveils-proposal-50-trillion-global-electricity-network-n548376 https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/china-unveils-propos...

Quanttek 8y ago

There was a project like that (though it failed): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec