Californian fires

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T1 Terry
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Re: Californian fires

Post by T1 Terry »

Busman wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 2:24 pm I have wondered if heat dissapation is another reason for air strung wires ?
Move it all via DC and water cool the cables, far more efficient for long distance power transfer, the same output as solar and batteries and with steam turbines being phased out over the next however many yrs, only gas, hydro and wind turbines will be AC, so not the huge costs involved converting from AC to DC where needed, gas being peak load supply, it would go straight into the local network as would the hydro, wind would be used locally as required and the rest converted to DC to be distributed around the nation.

It would open up the prospects for huge geothermal/solar thermal salt water lake based heat storage to provide that much talked about, base load power.

Include the freight rail corridor and use DC locomotives to utilise the energy already travelling through the tunnels and be able to regen back into the grid for braking ......

It's not that they have always done the AC route in the past, so they won't change, they already do it, so it's not something new that they know nothing about ......

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Re: Californian fires

Post by jon_d »

.....

the heat is lost energy in the wires from generated electricity.
then the water cooling is to protect the cables from this lost energy.

but the water needs pumps (probably extreme pressure and flow) to cover the lengths of cabling.
Which would need more energy from the generators, only to be lost too.

Yep... ;)
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Re: Californian fires

Post by T1 Terry »

jon_d wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 6:47 pm .....

the heat is lost energy in the wires from generated electricity.
then the water cooling is to protect the cables from this lost energy.

but the water needs pumps (probably extreme pressure and flow) to cover the lengths of cabling.
Which would need more energy from the generators, only to be lost too.

Yep... ;)
Used in ultra fast DC chargers for EVs at the moment, do proven technology, but there are other advantages.
Water-cooled high voltage cables are used to transmit power because they can reduce heat, increase current capacity, and improve charging efficiency.

Benefits of water-cooled high voltage cables

Reduced heat: Water-cooled cables can reduce the temperature of the cable, which improves the cable's transmission capacity.

Increased current-carrying capacity: Water-cooled cables can carry more current than air-cooled cables.

Extended service life: Water-cooled cables can last longer than air-cooled cables.

Space saving: Water-cooled cables are more compact than air-cooled cables.
As for the water being moved and captured heat, it could be used for preheating water for solar/thermal steam generation and even used for low pressure water pumping.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/ac-versus-d ... ans-72499/

The fact they turn the overhead AC high tension cables off now when there is a chance of them starting a fire, probably mostly because it cost the power companies so much from being sued as a result of fires their cables started, this could be a method of keeping the power on and the power companies having to foot the additional expense to put them underground .....

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Re: Californian fires

Post by T1 Terry »

Latest news, the boss of the power company responsible for the transmission line through the Californian fire area, admits to not turning the power off to the lines because the wind speeds where their monitors are mounted only reached 59mph and the cut off is 60 mph with 80 mph gusts :roll: The greed of these big companies knows no bounds, I wonder if their insurance will cover bill when they are sued .... I doubt his job is very secure now .....

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Re: Californian fires

Post by dream4red »

They are also blaming the huge spread on the good old gum trees. Fancy our beautiful dangerous trees getting the blame! Cane toads and rabbits are on the top of my list. Why would anyone import a huge tree into a country that is not it's natural habitat? Go figure!
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Re: Californian fires

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Re: Californian fires

Post by T1 Terry »

Better distribution of the available water would be start. Domestic water on a separate supply to fire fighting water, so the domestic can be turned off when it is being lost due to ruptured mains and as the video mentioned, leaking household supply lines as a result of the fire.
Back up water storage with pumps powered by alternatives to the grid when it goes down.

They mentioned swimming pools but the truck had to be within 20 mtrs, couldn't these tankers have longer hoses to draw from the swimming pools?

Lots to look at, from the cause to the prevention of it spreading so fast with better materials used when building these mansions to open spaces to create containment lines .... but property in that area is big $$ and money is money .......

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Re: Californian fires

Post by Greynomad »

Nah! You’re ALL WRONG!
According to The Donald the catastrophic fires were caused by Californians voting Democrat. 🤪
And because of that he’s disinclined to give the state Federal aid money… supported by the House of Representatives Speaker, whose state of Louisiana, devastated by a hurricane, expected (and received) immediate Federal aid from the Democratic President despite the fact that the state voted Republican.
Just a slight tinge of double standards here, methinks. 🤔
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Re: Californian fires

Post by supersparky »

It will be interesting to watch the news in the next week or so, just to see what changes the Donald being inaugurated has caused or created.
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Re: Californian fires

Post by BruceS »

I've got an aquaintence over there that was running one semi.
Nearly half of the truck operators have gone broke, sold out or walked away from the job over the last 12 months.
He is/was in a good financial position & a few weeks before the election results, all the media wote off the Donald.
He took a gamble & almost stole 2 semi outfits.
Since the election freight has gone beserk & rates almost doubled.
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