Space weather: another reason to go solar, distribute the grid widely

Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s) originate in our sun and have the power to cripple our centralized electrical distribution system with less than 24 hours’ warning. If we experienced an event today similar to what earth did in 1859, when billions of tons of ionized particles oriented in a magnetic wave that aligned with earth bombarded our atmosphere and collapsed earth’s own magnetic field, then our electrical distribution system could be completely out for weeks and take years to fully rebuild — assuming the outage did not cascade a social chaos of riots, looting and other disruptions that would compound the simple shortage of high power transformers lost in the solar storm.

In 2013, we are at ‘solar maximum’ a peak moment in the sun’s rotating electromagnetic field dynamics that generates many times the longterm average number of CME’s. The sun’s historical period from maximum to minimum CME’s runs about nine years, so even if investment in distributed energy doesn’t save us from a damaging event this maximum, a typical solar Photovoltaics or wind power installation will be around for several maximums, and the local micro-infrastructure for such installations will support the next generation of PV modules and wind turbines.

While the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other government agencies and industrial powers push massive grid upgrades to move power from centralized energy sources — typically coal and nuclear, although increasingly from wind farms located remote from population centers — recent breakthroughs in understanding the sub-surface dynamics of our sun should prompt a deep reconsideration of any electrical distribution investments other than distributed renewables like micro wind turbines and small solar, and possibly alternative energy such as micro combined heat-and-power systems fueled by natural gas (urban) or methane from trash or manure (rural).

Consider rooftop or yard / lot solar, and quiet-turbine micro wind power for your home or business today. Contact Robert Monk Electric for technical and financial consultation, and a quote.

Licensed Electrician Robert Monk Space weather: another reason to go solar, distribute the grid widely Copyright Robert Monk, 2012

Source: http://www.phillylicensedelectrician.com/space-weather-another-reason-to-go-solar-distribute-the-grid-widely/

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