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2020 X Prize: $10M to the first person who can figure out how to keep California's electricity on.
by panic 7y ago
2020 X Prize: $10M to the first person who can figure out how to keep California's electricity on.
- thedogeye 7y agoBury the power lines. Will cost more than $10M though. But less than we're spending on fire recovery and prevention.
- ars 7y agoIt would cost 1/4 of a trillion dollars. Or $15,000 per customer. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2019/10/11/cost-to-bury-california-fire-prone-power-lines-why-not/3937653002/ https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2019/10/11/... > But less than we're spending on fire recovery and prevention. You sure it's less?
- phendrenad2 7y agoAlso consider the devaluation of property in California due to the promise of a fire & smoke blanket every single year...
- bradlys 7y agoIt's interesting how now I think of weather in the bay area to now include at least a month of smokey weather. It's definitely changed my opinion on other regions of the USA in terms of weather. The weather here is no longer nearly perfect all year. It looks like we'll be having a month every year where there's so much smoke in the air that you can't go outside.
- drdeadringer 7y agoWhat was the reason(s) the lines weren't buried in the first place?
- bytematic 7y agoHave to cool the lines somehow. When they are in the air they are naturally cooled, when they are underground they need to pump water along them.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- inferiorhuman 7y agoWhat was the reason(s) the lines weren't buried in the first place? PG&E was too busy spending its income on cash bonuses, dividends, and stock buybacks. It really is just a matter of money. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/pge-underground-power-lines-cost-14503808.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/pge-underground-power...
- toast0 7y agoIn 'normal' soil conditions, underground lines start at about 3x the cost of above ground lines. In difficult soil, ex rocky soil, it's even more. Maintenance also becomes much more expensive, although less frequent maintenance may offset that. Non-maintenance changes, such as adding new service, etc would be much more expensive. I don't know about California regulations, but in Washington State, the regulator does not allow the utility to spend general funds to underground wires unless it's strictly required; the cost must be assessed to only the customers it benefits, which is fair, but can generate a lot of pushback.
- Rebelgecko 7y agoIt would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Underground power lines cost $5-10 million per mile and PG&E has ~100,000 miles that would need to be buried. A lot of PG&E's lines are in more rural areas which tend towards the cheaper side of that range, but it's still a ton of money.