Comment Re:and away we go (Score 1) 81
What I'd like to see is the governments investing in things like high-voltage DC that ultimately make it more profitable to burn less CO2. Imagine if solar from the Sahara could reach the cloudy UK with only 30% energy loss, hydro dams could store more water when it's windy or sunny anywhere in their hemisphere and generate more when other renewables are not available, and energy users who are able to time-shift their demand (e.g. electric car charging at home) can do so in a free market that naturally helps blunt the peak hour demands.
I think a planet-scale free-market grid is not quite feasible with off-the-shelf technology quite yet. However it seems to me that if we had one, in most cases you'd have to subsidize fossil fuels to keep them competitive with renewables. My hope is that rich countries can try to pave the way to a planet-scale electricity grid, the consequence of which will be that fossil fuels die a natural death with no subsidy needed.
If this sounds like science fiction, check this video out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?.... Some early long-distance transmission projects have paid back their initial investment 100% in just one year. I would love to see governments at least getting out of the way of, or even better investing in, seriously high-power long distance electrical transmission.