[ExI] This power satellite video shown at the ISDC

david deimtee at optusnet.com.au
Tue May 26 10:26:08 UTC 2015


On Tue, 26 May 2015 00:59:50 -0700
John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com> wrote:

> But what would the costs be?  And how long would it take?  I realize that
> China has deep pockets...
> 
> 
> John
> 
> On Mon, May 25, 2015 at 8:17 AM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Lrj35HcbQ&feature=youtu.be
> >
> > 3000 of these could entirely replace three cubic miles of oil
> > (equivalent) of fossil fuel the human race uses each year. By the
> > early 2030s if we got on it soon.
> >
> > It didn't win the animation contest.  An animation by a Chinese team
> > backed by the government did.
> >
> > Keith
> > _______________________________________________
> > extropy-chat mailing list
> > extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> > http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat
> >

As much as I like the idea of massive space development, I think that cheap
batteries and local solar are going to kill this. 

Here in Australia it's already heading that way. Solar cells on rooftops are
very common, and installations are continuing. 
The power companies dropped the feed-in tariff well below even off-peak power.
Now they are complaining that instead of feed-in solar, people are diverting
it to non-time-sensitive uses and load-shifting.

Batteries that allow people to go completely off-grid even in suburbia are on
the way. This leaves existing power suppliers competing for a shrinking market
for the foreseeable future. (Accountant foreseeable, not Keith visionary
foreseeable).

Industrial is still a large market, but nobody will or should
invest in capital construction while the market has an over-supply.

The situation may be temporarily different in the USA - Govt incentives have
definitely distorted the market here - but long term it works out the same.

Sorry Keith. I wanted to go to space too.

-David




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