Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
1–10 of 21 posts
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#2I'm sure it could, but maybe before building a 4500km undersea cable, we could try and decarbonise the energy grid of Australia itself, currently the number two per capita emitter of CO2 in the world.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#3Sharks love biting cable with electricity flowing in it. Even with redundancy, submarine cable cuts cause big outages on the internet, I am sure they know this but I wonder why they think the risk is not a deal breaker?
You know what would be cool? Robots/Drones that dig trenches in the ocean floor and bury the cables! But even to lay them down like it is done now, it is very expensive with only about a dozen or so cable ships in the world I believe.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#4Sharks love biting cable with electricity flowing in it. Even with redundancy, submarine cable cuts cause big outages on the internet, I am sure they know this but I wonder why they think the risk is not a deal breaker? You know what would be cool? Robots/Drones that dig trenches in the ocean floor and bury the cables! But even to lay them down like it is done now, it is very expensive with only about a dozen or so c…
It’s not a deal breaker because there are many underwater HVDC cables in operation across the world that have been reliability operating for years or decades.
If sharks (or other active water hazards) are a concern, you bury the cable with water jets below the sea floor.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#5I'm sure it could, but maybe before building a 4500km undersea cable, we could try and decarbonise the energy grid of Australia itself, currently the number two per capita emitter of CO2 in the world.
Australia has 150GW of renewables projects in their development pipeline, versus the 15GW of fossil generation on the continent. You can work on transmission and generation in parallel.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#6I'm sure it could, but maybe before building a 4500km undersea cable, we could try and decarbonise the energy grid of Australia itself, currently the number two per capita emitter of CO2 in the world.
Australia has 150GW of renewables projects in their development pipeline, versus the 15GW of fossil generation on the continent. You can work on transmission and generation in parallel.
I agree with the general point, but I'm still anxious about it. The mining lobby/industry is huge. If extra demand could justify opening a new mine or prevent closing one, I fully expect that to be abused.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Australia has 150GW of renewables projects in their development pipeline, versus the 15GW of fossil generation on the continent. You can work on transmission and generation in parallel.
I agree with the general point, but I'm still anxious about it. The mining lobby/industry is huge. If extra demand could justify opening a new mine or prevent closing one, I fully expect that to be abused.
I assure you, it’s not a concern. South Australia has so much rooftop solar coming online, the grid operator has real concerns they’ll see net zero demand on the grid for substantial periods of time. Renewables deployment is in full swing, and still accelerating.
I don’t see coal ever being cost competitive enough to keep digging out of the ground ever again once we make more headway.
The words “tipping point” are bandied about, but it looks like we’re there. That doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods, but it does mean it’ll be harder and harder to justify non renewables continued use. We just need to push the throttle down on more renewables.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#8Solar farm in the Sahara desert could power Europe with a hydrogen pipeline.
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with the general point, but I'm still anxious about it. The mining lobby/industry is huge. If extra demand could justify opening a new mine or prevent closing one, I fully expect that to be abused.
I assure you, it’s not a concern. South Australia has so much rooftop solar coming online, the grid operator has real concerns they’ll see net zero demand on the grid for substantial periods of time. Renewables deployment is in full swing, and still accelerating. I don’t see coal ever being cost competitive enough to keep digging out of the ground ever again once we make more headway. The words “tipping point” are ba…
>I assure you, it’s not a concern.
Its not the coal you burn in Australia...it's the Coal you export, remember we live under one Atmosphere:
In 2016, Australia was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports
Re: Solar farm in Australia could power Singapore via 4,500km undersea cable
#10Solar farm in the Sahara desert could power Europe with a hydrogen pipeline.
Or, you know, just build more solar and wind in Europe. Plenty of low hanging fruits, no need for intercontinental mega projects.