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Slight problem that the dessert will get to around 50C on sunny days. No infrastructure on earth is designed to operate at those temperatures. That's on top of

Slight problem that the dessert will get to around 50C on sunny days. No infrastructure on earth is designed to operate at those temperatures. That's on top of distances like those between Huston to New York between the main sun light areas and the population centers.

int_19h 7y ago
What is the problem with operating the power delivery infrastructure at those temps, exactly? And as for distances - power grids have been built at similar scale, and even longer. When there's essentially free power for the taking, why wouldn't you invest into delivering it where it needs to go?
- buzzkillington 7y ago
  >What is the problem with operating the power delivery infrastructure at those temps, exactly? It costs three or more times as much since you need to use uncommon materials and design from scratch. >And as for distances - power grids have been built at similar scale, and even longer. There is no country in the world as large and as sparsely populated as Australia. The distance between Perth and Brisbane is the same as that between NY and SF with no one living between them. When I worked in finance here it was always fun explaining to Americans why their algos will fail regardless of what we do, the speed of light matters. Hilariously enough, even the US doesn't have one grid continent wide, and it's ten times as densely populated as Australia.
  - int_19h 7y ago
    Russia is an example of a country that is much larger, and also sparsely populated. And I'm still confused - what kind of "uncommon materials" are we talking about? What exactly is the problem with normal power delivery infrastructure that precludes it from operating at high temps?
    - ceejayoz 7y ago
      https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114008/ampdf https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/1... > Elevated air temperatures can reduce the rated capacity of electric transmission lines, meaning that their ability to transmit power will be diminished during peak hours. That said, it looks like it's just a couple percent, so maybe you just overbuild a little.
      - int_19h 7y ago
        Solar panels are also less efficient when it's hot, but these are all just losses that can be overcome by throwing more panels at it. If you have a giant desert, it's basically free energy for the taking - you just need to make that initial investment. And unlike e.g. Sahara, there's well-developed infrastructure around the desert, nor are there issues with political instability.
paranoidrobot 7y ago
> main sun light areas You say this like it doesn't get sunny in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane (the top three largest cities) Plenty of room for solar on existing buildings and structures. No need to transport it long distances.

int_19h 7y ago

What is the problem with operating the power delivery infrastructure at those temps, exactly? And as for distances - power grids have been built at similar scale, and even longer. When there's essentially free power for the taking, why wouldn't you invest into delivering it where it needs to go?

buzzkillington 7y ago
>What is the problem with operating the power delivery infrastructure at those temps, exactly? It costs three or more times as much since you need to use uncommon materials and design from scratch. >And as for distances - power grids have been built at similar scale, and even longer. There is no country in the world as large and as sparsely populated as Australia. The distance between Perth and Brisbane is the same as that between NY and SF with no one living between them. When I worked in finance here it was always fun explaining to Americans why their algos will fail regardless of what we do, the speed of light matters. Hilariously enough, even the US doesn't have one grid continent wide, and it's ten times as densely populated as Australia.
- int_19h 7y ago
  Russia is an example of a country that is much larger, and also sparsely populated. And I'm still confused - what kind of "uncommon materials" are we talking about? What exactly is the problem with normal power delivery infrastructure that precludes it from operating at high temps?
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114008/ampdf https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/1... > Elevated air temperatures can reduce the rated capacity of electric transmission lines, meaning that their ability to transmit power will be diminished during peak hours. That said, it looks like it's just a couple percent, so maybe you just overbuild a little.
    - int_19h 7y ago
      Solar panels are also less efficient when it's hot, but these are all just losses that can be overcome by throwing more panels at it. If you have a giant desert, it's basically free energy for the taking - you just need to make that initial investment. And unlike e.g. Sahara, there's well-developed infrastructure around the desert, nor are there issues with political instability.

paranoidrobot 7y ago

> main sun light areas You say this like it doesn't get sunny in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane (the top three largest cities) Plenty of room for solar on existing buildings and structures. No need to transport it long distances.