Reply #118: And if we were operating on a decentralized power generation system combined with a smart grid [View All]

[MadHound]

We could still power this country, in spite of snow and overcast Cold really, really doesn't matter that much, and bonus, winter winds to generate more energy:think:

The wind is always blowing, the sun is always shining somewhere in this country. With decentralized power generation and a smart grid, we can transfer power from the place that is producing the excess to where it is needed. Not to mention that you can throw a twenty four hour battery bank into most buildings.

To give you an example, I live in the Midwest, let's say you live on the East coast. When those big snowstorms came rolling from west to east across this country while I'm getting hammered with snow and socked in overcast, you're still sunny and nice. Your part of the grid is generating more power than you need locally so you ship it off to the Midwest. The front moves on, things are clear and sunny here while you're getting clobbered. So I'm generating excess energy and shipping it back east. Whoa, and if we get places like the desert southwest involved, and the west coast, yeah, I think we can deal with winter, or any other season.

If you want, I go into a little more detail in my post 115 below, actual numbers and stuff.