4 ms·

What about of world-wide energy grid, so that the side of the earth with sunshine routes their left-over energy to the side without sun? I realize this is curr

by aerique 16y ago

What about of world-wide energy grid, so that the side of the earth with sunshine routes their left-over energy to the side without sun? I realize this is currently a fantasy but would it ever be feasible or are there technical limitations preventing this from ever occurring?

bruce511 16y ago
Define "technical limitation"? The most obvious issue that springs to mind is the difference in voltage supplied from country to country. In the US it's 110V, elsewhere it's usually 220V or 240V. So I suppose replacing every electrical appliance inside, or outside, the US isn't a "technical" limitation, but it's certainly a limitation of some kind. That aside there are losses when electricity is "moved" - they further you move it the more you lose. (that's a simplification, but it'll do.) Politically of course, there are limitations as well. Assuming the grid was mostly on land, each country becomes vulnerable to another country cutting it off. I'm not sure that the US for example would want to be dependent on Canada, or Russia, and I suspect the rest of South America may not like being vulnerable to Panama, and so on. Most of the generation would probably occur in desert regions, and I'm thinking that's already a problem with an oil based economy.
- joahua 16y ago
  That limitation is a little bit arbitrary - 110/240 are stepped down, post-transmssion voltages. In terms of interconnection/transmission between states there are ways around this. 50/60Hz poses a little bit more of a difficulty, perhaps... I'm no electrical engineer but there are apparently (inefficient?) ways to do this.
  - Leynos 16y ago
    Japan seems to overcome the frequency issue somehow: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Power_Grid_of_Japan.PNG https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Power_Gr... Half of the country operates at 50Hz and the other half at 60Hz: "In Japan, the western part of the country (Kyoto and west) uses 60 Hz and the eastern part (Tokyo and east) uses 50 Hz. This originates in the first purchases of generators from AEG in 1895, installed for Tokyo, and General Electric in 1896, installed in Osaka. The boundary between the two regions contains four back-to-back HVDC substations which convert the frequency; these are Shin Shinano, Sakuma Dam, Minami-Fukumitsu, and the Higashi-Shimizu Frequency Converter."
    - fr0sty 16y ago
      This has actually been a major issue in light of the recent damage from the earthquake/tsunami. Poser generation on the 50hz half of the country has been greatly diminished and the frequency matching stations have insufficient capacity to meet demand. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134828205/a-country-divided-japans-electric-bottleneck http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134828205/a-country-divided-ja...
scythe 16y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower You've got the best chance if you do something like this. No wires = no evil countries cutting wires.

by aerique 16y ago

bruce511 16y ago

Define "technical limitation"? The most obvious issue that springs to mind is the difference in voltage supplied from country to country. In the US it's 110V, elsewhere it's usually 220V or 240V. So I suppose replacing every electrical appliance inside, or outside, the US isn't a "technical" limitation, but it's certainly a limitation of some kind. That aside there are losses when electricity is "moved" - they further you move it the more you lose. (that's a simplification, but it'll do.) Politically of course, there are limitations as well. Assuming the grid was mostly on land, each country becomes vulnerable to another country cutting it off. I'm not sure that the US for example would want to be dependent on Canada, or Russia, and I suspect the rest of South America may not like being vulnerable to Panama, and so on. Most of the generation would probably occur in desert regions, and I'm thinking that's already a problem with an oil based economy.

joahua 16y ago
That limitation is a little bit arbitrary - 110/240 are stepped down, post-transmssion voltages. In terms of interconnection/transmission between states there are ways around this. 50/60Hz poses a little bit more of a difficulty, perhaps... I'm no electrical engineer but there are apparently (inefficient?) ways to do this.
- Leynos 16y ago
  Japan seems to overcome the frequency issue somehow: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Power_Grid_of_Japan.PNG https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Power_Gr... Half of the country operates at 50Hz and the other half at 60Hz: "In Japan, the western part of the country (Kyoto and west) uses 60 Hz and the eastern part (Tokyo and east) uses 50 Hz. This originates in the first purchases of generators from AEG in 1895, installed for Tokyo, and General Electric in 1896, installed in Osaka. The boundary between the two regions contains four back-to-back HVDC substations which convert the frequency; these are Shin Shinano, Sakuma Dam, Minami-Fukumitsu, and the Higashi-Shimizu Frequency Converter."
  - fr0sty 16y ago
    This has actually been a major issue in light of the recent damage from the earthquake/tsunami. Poser generation on the 50hz half of the country has been greatly diminished and the frequency matching stations have insufficient capacity to meet demand. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134828205/a-country-divided-japans-electric-bottleneck http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134828205/a-country-divided-ja...

scythe 16y ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower You've got the best chance if you do something like this. No wires = no evil countries cutting wires.