41–50 of 152 posts
Wouldn't it be better to induce foreign investors to set up shop in Chile to take advantage of the really cheap and abundant electricity?
Hopelessly naive, I know, but shouldn't there be a global grid to optimally distribute electricity from solar irradiation rather than laying idiotic lengths of cable for political reasons? You want to connect the Pacific rim for that grid to work but I can easily imagine some intermediate "links" that seem to make more sense
European Commission Joint Research Center Technical Reports: HVDC Submarine Power Cables in the World https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/J... According to table 1, losses for 800 kilovolt HVDC systems can be as low as 3.5% per 1000 km. That comes to 52.5% loss over 15,000 km. Losses should go lower at 1100 kilovolts (the highest voltage HVDC systems running today) but I can't find detailed los…
European Commission Joint Research Center Technical Reports: HVDC Submarine Power Cables in the World https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/J... According to table 1, losses for 800 kilovolt HVDC systems can be as low as 3.5% per 1000 km. That comes to 52.5% loss over 15,000 km. Losses should go lower at 1100 kilovolts (the highest voltage HVDC systems running today) but I can't find detailed los…
Test satellites for space-based solar power (SBSP) are already going into orbit as soon as next year:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power#In_the...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's on the order of 1.5%/1,000KM, so something like 20%-25% loss. Edit: a Chinese project with a 1.5%/1,000KM loss http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/0622/c90000-9474097.html
So the cost (price) of energy in the other end (china) should be 25%+ (plus the expected ROIC) to make this endeavor worthwhile
European Commission Joint Research Center Technical Reports: HVDC Submarine Power Cables in the World https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/J... According to table 1, losses for 800 kilovolt HVDC systems can be as low as 3.5% per 1000 km. That comes to 52.5% loss over 15,000 km. Losses should go lower at 1100 kilovolts (the highest voltage HVDC systems running today) but I can't find detailed los…
There can boosters on the cable
Casey Handmer calculated that it was cheaper to produce solar power in Boston for local use than it was to ship solar power from Arizona to Boston.[1] Solar power is 3X as expensive to produce in Boston, but HVDC lines are even more expensive. If it's uneconomical to ship from Arizona to Boston, then Chile to Asia seems even more problematic. Although in this case the submarine HVDC line is competing against batterie…
I have no idea whether those are still reasonable estimates, just wanted to point to a possibility of price improvement.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was immediately thinking about early morning in Asia, still dark outside, everybody puts the kettle on. If these long distance cables really can transport energy efficiently it might solve some of the challenges with renewables!
> I was immediately thinking about early morning in Asia, still dark outside, everybody puts the kettle on. In the UK they actually have to plan for grid demand to skyrocket during ad breaks in certain TV shows because half the country puts the kettle on at the same time! In one episode of EastEnders, demand grew by 2290MW, nearly twice as large as any single UK nuclear reactor. https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-…
Many kitchens in North America have 20A outlets, which should at least let us use 2000W kettles. Why won't anybody sell me a 115V/16A kettle with a NEMA 5-20 connector?
Wouldn't it be better to induce foreign investors to set up shop in Chile to take advantage of the really cheap and abundant electricity?
With oil, coal, and natural gas, a cut in the supply network doesn't necessarily have an immediate impact. Buffers exist in some parts of the distribution network: ships holds, rail cars, and storage tanks.
With electricity, it doesn't seem like we have much infrastructure for buffering the supply. So cutting those cables might have an immediate and significant impact on the consumers.
Perhaps this creates a disincentive for any of these powers starting a war. But it also seems like an extra attack surface for terrorism, extortion, or natural disasters.