[IMTDb]

Wait, does the mean that if we wanted to use solar as an energy source for the world we would need to cover roughly 1/1700 of the entire surface of the planet with perfectly efficient panels and interconnections between the east and the west to support the energy transfer during nighttime ?

[teamonkey]

Back of the envelope calculations.

1) Assume a 1x1m solar panel generates 150W at peak.

2) It won't manage that all the time, far from it. Lets say it generates 300Wh per sq. meter. per day, or 110kWh/m^2/year.

To achieve 80000TWh we'd need about 730million 1x1m panels. For comparison, google says the land area of New York city is 783million m2.

[fsh]

You are off by a factor 1000. 80 PWh is 730 billion times 110 kWh.

[teamonkey]

Sorry, you're right. You'd need to cover a land area slightly larger than Texas.

[iso1210]

Or much less than the Sahara Desert

Of course it's not just solar, throw in geothermal, tidal and wind too