Wooden batteries

Energy: Waste from paper mills could be put to use to make “grid scale” batteries that combine large capacity with low cost

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The intermittency of solar power (ie night) is a local problem on the scale of the earth. Try working out the cost of electricity transmission from one hemisphere to another, using the technology that links Britain and France (among others) now. You may be surprised.

Losses = ~3% / 1000 km

Distance from the Mojave to the Sahara = 10,000 km

Cost of cable + installation for UK/France link = $200 million / TW km.

Converter station = $22 billion/TW.

(The channel is shallow, but most of our link will be on land, which is cheaper still.)

Total cost of 70% efficient transmission of 5 TW from the day side of the earth to the night side: $10 trillion. Electricity delivered (at 80% utilization) = 2.5e13 kwh/year. For a payback time of 8 years, the price difference between the day and night side must be 5 cents per kilowatt hour.


The need for large batteries probably is not there in the immediate future. For now it will be enough if solar/wind power could supplement conventional power when the sun shines and when the wind blows.

For example, solar power during summer could help power air-conditioners. That doesn't require batteries.

guest-wssieia in reply to Swiftly

I expect that transmission will be built incrementally whenever an opportunity for arbitrage arises, that is, when the price difference between the hemispheres becomes sufficient. During the day, most demand will be supplied from one's own rooftop - that is the situation which Germany seems to be approaching, and they are in one of the worst places for solar in the world.

Swiftly in reply to guest-wssieia

Are you proposing that transmission should be built in order that power can be transmitted from desert areas that are on the day side to supply all power need on the day side and then additionally all the power on the night side?


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