Mankind has ignored the source of this disease for centuries energy where the rays live. It seems like sacrilege, but there’s a reason. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)Four-fifths of the new energy capacity added today comes from renewable energy. Fossil fuels have proven for decades that they are very efficient, but also very polluting. That’s why several countries have committed to lowering pollution levels and turning to cleaner sources, like the miracle energy California is betting on.
Although renewable energy sources have been around for a long time, fossil fuels are the ‘kings’ of energy supply. Now renewables are feeling the weight of a demand previously met by fossils. In this context, humanity turns to forgotten energies or looks for new ways to provide users. The ability to increase energy from solar, wind, or other alternatives is limited, at least until expensive transmission lines and infrastructure are expanded or added.
Lightning is an energy source that has been ignored for centuries and could now have a place in the energy transition. However, there is a reason why it has not been taken into account until now.
Can we get energy from lightning?
Yes. Lightning from thunderstorms contains the same energy produced by 145 liters of gasoline. An overwhelming fact that leads many users to wonder why lightning has not been used as a power source before. If people were to resort to this source, it would be a non-polluting and extremely powerful natural source. However, it is not as simple as it seems at first glance.
This idea has been analyzed since the 1980s, but there is a difficult problem to solve: how to catch lightning at its peak. Not all energy generated by lightning is electrical. A large part of it consists of heat.
Furthermore, it is almost impossible to predict where lightning will strike, so capturing it is complex. A large number of electricity towers will have to be installed, similar in size to the Torre Eiffelalong the earth’s surface. An apparently effective plan, but expensive, unaesthetic and with a major impact on the environment.
Lightning energy: a mystery that has been investigated for years
But humanity does not give up. For decades, there have been numerous open investigations into the collection and subsequent use of the energy in lightning. Only one estimates an average of 5,000 million Jouleapproximately 145 liters of oil. This amount of energy Divided into several discharges and released in microseconds, it produces an estimated power of 10,000 million watts, enough to power a house for a month.
This is determined by an article from Nervis Villalobostechnical and operational director of Enersia Technology & Innovation. The data is even more surprising when we look at the global scale, as in the Tierra about 8,640,000 fall every day, 100 per second, equivalent to the energy of 1,252 million liters of oil. If this is a feasible way to capture and store this in abundance energythis would be converted into an impressive energy reserve.
Nevertheless, storing it and making it usable would be just as complex. A lightning bolt measures on average about 1,500 meters and has a speed of 100 to 1,400 km/s. The gigantic flow contrasts with its brevity, just 10 microseconds.
In short, lightning can be an immeasurable source of energybut the difficulty of capturing and storing it prevents it from being used with the same freedom as others. Meanwhile, the United States chooses to produce this experimental energy.