X PRIZE Crazy Green Idea-Global Solar Energy Grid

My crazy green idea is a global solar energy grid, built on top of an all optical fiber network, using the Internet to transfer solar energy on a global scale. Anyone with access to a fiber network could 'upload' and 'download' energy to and off the grid, using a solar concentrating device to generate and upload solar energy.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• solar
• energy
• fiber
• optics
• internet
• xprize
• prize

[noreast77]

Hey nice work... great thinking at the very least- if we all had solar and were wired together we wouldn't need power companies, we'd power ourselves and each other. Any electrical engineers know if we transmit power in this way? Damn my third rate education!!

[solargrid]

Thanks noeast! when the initial idea came to my mind, the first thing I thought about was that it could evolve much like current file sharing network evolved, until very smart sharing protocols, such as Bittorrent.

There is so much knowledge and experience around these type of network protocols and standard, that we could utilize for the solar grid-load balancing, high availability, network optimization.

[solardeathraysun]

NICE idea, but will not work. If you could digitize energy packets, it would make more sense to send 1 packet and have a computer duplicate it 1billion times. Also, If you had a photon only device (solar panel) it would make more senses to run it from local sunlight. Fiber optic streams are VERY WEAK. You would need a cable the size of a tunnel to transfer 500 watts across the sea.

Fiberoptic modems use the photo as a signal, not energy. If you unplug power from #2, you have nothing. Good thing

[solargrid]

You would capture solar energy locally,and any excess energy would be uploaded to the grid.

It's true that the greatest issue here is the tiny amount of energy current optical fibers can transfer. But these fibers were designed to transfer 0 & 1, not energy. A new breed of optical fibers would have to be developed, no doubt. There are already fibers that are free from some of the physical limitations on energy transfer that current fibers have.

But for 10M$ prize and 3-5 years,it can happen.

[alancolahan]

This is an awesome idea, can it be done and will it be done i love it amazing

[solargrid]

I believe it can be done,sure. The biggest challenge is that current fiber optical networks are not designed to transfer large amounts of energy. You will need a new breed of fiber optical cables, and new 'energy' communication hardware. But with money going into research, and Economy Of Scale principle, I am sure this thing can become commercial within the next 5-10 years. It's not going to happen in one or two years, but it more of an ongoing evolution - from an electric to an 'optical' world.

[EagleEyeKiller]

@dennisnoob except u cant send energy across the internet lmao this guy doesn't make sense. if they could they would copy the poton and make billions before sending it.

[russ25052]

if your going to go through all this grid stuff and still charge people. the power companies to could just build satalites that mirror the sun around the earth and beam it down. no big grid needed and no dealiong with other countries. would suck in war your enemy could turn lights out on you and you on them. then what?

[DonQuixotedeKaw]

The heat loss alone, both initially, and from frequency degradation, makes this concept a no-go, as any grid.

On site, roof top home and business lighting however, need this idea to be developed, urgently.

[kelltiozim]

I have doubts that we can create such a system. If we had that technology, we could zap ourselves and any matter across the oceans, or even across the galaxy. But still a grid of solar is a terrific idea, and it should definately be looked into seriously. Of course the solar would have to be converted to AC current to travel far.

[Charles2337]

That's so strange. Awesome.