Much of the potential hydroelectric resource is currently unexploited because it is located in remote and inaccessible areas. Carrying power great distances from production centres to areas of consumption would require the installation of long and expensive lines through remote, inaccessible areas. Every year we allow about 4.7 E 18 joules of energy to flow away down remote rivers - almost half as much energy again as the world's total electricity production in 1984 (3.2 E 18 joules), the equivalent output of 2,000 nuclear power plants. The available hydroelectric resource is distributed variously between the different continents. About 75% of this residual resource is located in Africa, non-Soviet Asia and in Latin America. The residual resources of Europe and Oceania are scarce, while those of North America and the Soviet Union are still considerable. While the foregoing discussion specifically addresses hydroelectric resources, the argument applies to any power source located in a remote region, be it tidal energy, geothermal energy or solar energy in remote desert areas. Exporting electrical energy from remote areas would place the countries owning them in a position like that occupied by the oil-producing countries of the Middle East, with one important difference. Petroleum is a nonrenewable resource which is expected to run out sometime shortly after 2010. Hydropower and other renewable resources are inexhaustible. The exploitation of hydraulic resources is based on extensive experience acquired over the past century, and difficult projects have been carried through in the most challenging hydraulic, orographic and environmental settings. New technology cannot be expected to make old hydropower plants obsolete, since energy conversion efficiencies are well over 90% already. Hydropower plants are permanent installations, making amortization relatively easy and ensuring a steady stream of income for a long time. Another important advantage of hydropower over other power-generating technologies is that it naturally embodies efficient long-term energy storage. Hydroelectric facilities usually entail the accumulation of potential energy in large reservoirs (with capacities often reaching tens of cubic kilometres). This makes daily, weekly and seasonal variations in power demand easy to accommodate. In addition, highly efficient pumped storage is possible and can be used to match demand to energy supply from a variety of sources such as baseload nuclear plants or solar-generating facilities. It is also worth remembering that the cost of energy from fossil fuels is bound to increase as the resource is depleted, while the cost of hydropower is constant once the generating capacity is installed. Guglielmo Marconi and the History of Power Transmission The 23rd March 1930 issue of Giomale di Italia announced that due to the astonishing discoveries of the Italian genius, Guglielmo Marconi, the Sydney Electricity Exhibition would be lit by radio waves sent from Genoa. Many other articles were published in Italy and elsewhere describing this exceptional experiment. Despite Marconi's repeated explanation that he only sent the signal which turned on the lights in Sydney, uninformed public opinion held that Marconi had made a dream come true in achieving the as yet unimagined goal of transmitting substantial amounts of power via radio waves. The thought that the power needed to light the Sydney exposition travelled 14,000 km from Genova via radio struck a deep resonance with the public, and today we are finally capable of fulfilling this popular dream of wireless power transmission by the use of microwaves, or, perhaps in the future, lasers. Microwave transmission of energy over very long distances is today possible with
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