Synergistic Supergrid Could Meet Nation’s Energy Needs In 21st Century
A high-capacity superconducting energy pipeline, or SuperGrid, could deliver electricity and hydrogen fuel across the nation and help meet future energy needs while reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, said experts who recently assessed the scientific feasibility of the idea. Two years ago, the idea of a continental SuperGrid was proposed by Chauncey Starr, founder and president emeritus of the Electric Power Research Institute.
To investigate the technical feasibility of the concept, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with support from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, sponsored a "National Energy SuperGrid Workshop." The workshop, held November 6-8, 2002, in Palo Alto, CA, brought together scientists and engineers from eight universities and three national laboratories as well as leading power and industry consultants.