5 ms·

Is ~50% retained more efficient than producing the solar power in Asia itself? Wouldn't it be better to generate this power in the deserts of the middle east,

by mataug 5y ago

Is ~50% retained more efficient than producing the solar power in Asia itself? Wouldn't it be better to generate this power in the deserts of the middle east, and the wide open plains of Central Asia and transmit that over shorter distances despite producing less power per solar panel ?

Negitivefrags 5y ago
The whole point is that you can generate the power at different times. The deserts of the middle east get sunlight at a different time then South America. If we had a worldwide spanning power grid we wouldn't need to have a grid storage solution at all.
- spywaregorilla 5y ago
  That's pretty crazy, but a really cool idea.
- mataug 5y ago
  That's a good point, I can see how this could be better than battery based storage for night time. But I wonder if wind power coupled with some limited battery storage, geo thermal, and newer generation nuclear peaker power plants can solve this problem instead of laying a mega cable under the ocean.
  - mapmap 5y ago
    >nuclear peaker power plants Is that even a thing? Why would one not run the nuclear plant 24/7 after it has been paid for and constructed?
  - janmo 5y ago
    It is not only about night time but also about inverted seasons. When it is summer in Chile it will be winter in China.
    - mataug 5y ago
      Thats fair, but I still think that a 15,000Km undersea cable adds a lot more complexity and cost when compared to diversifying renewable low carbon power generation within Asia Also the cost of laying that cable is going to be baked into the cost power coming from Chile, and this might make it far less economically viable when compared to adding redundant power generation capacity in Asia.
  - bryanlarsen 5y ago
    _Microft linked to a great paper saying that 99.99% reliability can be achieved in 42 different countries using a mix of overprovisioned solar, wind and 3 hours worth of batteries. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26355-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26355-z
  - adrianN 5y ago
    A mix of power sources and some storage can of course solve this problem. The question is whether it is cheaper (or more desirable for other reasons). An infrastructure of a couple of HVDC lines that are vital for countries on different continents has very interesting geopolitical consequences for example. Imagine the bargaining power a country has if it can literally turn off the lights during the night in another country. With fossil fuels it is at least easy to store months worth of energy, but still OPEC is quite powerful.

by mataug 5y ago

Negitivefrags 5y ago

The whole point is that you can generate the power at different times. The deserts of the middle east get sunlight at a different time then South America. If we had a worldwide spanning power grid we wouldn't need to have a grid storage solution at all.

spywaregorilla 5y ago
That's pretty crazy, but a really cool idea.
mataug 5y ago
That's a good point, I can see how this could be better than battery based storage for night time. But I wonder if wind power coupled with some limited battery storage, geo thermal, and newer generation nuclear peaker power plants can solve this problem instead of laying a mega cable under the ocean.
- mapmap 5y ago
  >nuclear peaker power plants Is that even a thing? Why would one not run the nuclear plant 24/7 after it has been paid for and constructed?
- janmo 5y ago
  It is not only about night time but also about inverted seasons. When it is summer in Chile it will be winter in China.
  - mataug 5y ago
    Thats fair, but I still think that a 15,000Km undersea cable adds a lot more complexity and cost when compared to diversifying renewable low carbon power generation within Asia Also the cost of laying that cable is going to be baked into the cost power coming from Chile, and this might make it far less economically viable when compared to adding redundant power generation capacity in Asia.
- bryanlarsen 5y ago
  _Microft linked to a great paper saying that 99.99% reliability can be achieved in 42 different countries using a mix of overprovisioned solar, wind and 3 hours worth of batteries. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26355-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26355-z
- adrianN 5y ago
  A mix of power sources and some storage can of course solve this problem. The question is whether it is cheaper (or more desirable for other reasons). An infrastructure of a couple of HVDC lines that are vital for countries on different continents has very interesting geopolitical consequences for example. Imagine the bargaining power a country has if it can literally turn off the lights during the night in another country. With fossil fuels it is at least easy to store months worth of energy, but still OPEC is quite powerful.