There's a pretty big NIMBY problem with HV transmission lines in the USA as well, of which many thousands of km are needed for the energy system you're dreaming

There's a pretty big NIMBY problem with HV transmission lines in the USA as well, of which many thousands of km are needed for the energy system you're dreaming of. Also many of those sources have seasonal variations that the grid doesn't solve. The sun goes down at 4:30pm in many parts of the USA in winter, at the time when heating energy peaks. It's easy to underestimate how much energy is needed to heat the midwest in winter. China has a related problem but people are dying from the coal emissions. Their solution? Scaled-up TRIGA reactors (typically used for research) that provide district heating, not electricity. Brilliant! [1] [1] http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/CNNC-completes-design-of-district-heating-reactor http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/CNNC-completes-de...