To reach our global goal of being net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we must solve one problem - energy storage. Thank you to Toyota for lending us the #Mirai and for sponsoring this series. Scientists, researchers, and engineers are working to develop innovative ways of addressing the intermittency of wind and solar energy. I got to talk to them in part 3 of my renewable energy road trip with Toyota in their #Mirai
Previous videos in this series:
The Truth about Driving a Hydrogen Car [https://youtu.be/hghIckc7nrY]
Hydrogen vs. Battery Electric Cars [https://youtu.be/dWAO3vUn7nw]
Upcoming video in this series:
Concentrated Solar
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Resources:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/LTS1_RKorea.pdf
https://highwaysengland.co.uk/netzerohighways/
https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/beceb956-0dcf-4d73-89fe-1310e3046d68/NetZeroby2050-ARoadmapfortheGlobalEnergySector_CORR.pdf
https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
If you are referring to energy loses due to the large distances and the electrical resistance of the wires carrying that power; you’ll discover those loses are directed related to current and that you can trade current for voltage and trade voltage for current; so we can avoid losses by upping the voltage.
If you are referring to the fact that the Earth’s crust is moving, we can have geologists do some work; estimate the distances spaces where we will be running our wires and put in sufficient slack to cover the time period until the next maintenance window.
If you are referring to weather event induced disruptions in the grid (wind/tornadoes/etc taking out power lines) then you build alternate paths to route around damage.
If you are referring to solar storms and coronal mass ejections, then you need standards in your equipment to deal with out of spec distribution lines.
All of which are technical problems and easy to solve.
If you are referring to the bureaucratic hellscape that is international coordination and cooperation, then yes that is the only huge problem preventing such a solution, despite its numerous global economic and environmental advantages.
Is a global distribution grid even possible? Isn’t distance a huge problem when transporting energy?
Depends on what you mean by a huge problem.
If you are referring to energy loses due to the large distances and the electrical resistance of the wires carrying that power; you’ll discover those loses are directed related to current and that you can trade current for voltage and trade voltage for current; so we can avoid losses by upping the voltage.
If you are referring to the fact that the Earth’s crust is moving, we can have geologists do some work; estimate the distances spaces where we will be running our wires and put in sufficient slack to cover the time period until the next maintenance window.
If you are referring to weather event induced disruptions in the grid (wind/tornadoes/etc taking out power lines) then you build alternate paths to route around damage.
If you are referring to solar storms and coronal mass ejections, then you need standards in your equipment to deal with out of spec distribution lines.
All of which are technical problems and easy to solve.
If you are referring to the bureaucratic hellscape that is international coordination and cooperation, then yes that is the only huge problem preventing such a solution, despite its numerous global economic and environmental advantages.
I cannot upvote enough, I just heard distance is a problem and I needed a kind stranger (like you) to explain why that’s not a problem.
Got any references for me to read? I would like to learn more
PS fuck capitalism