I made a presentation at the IEEE Homeland Security Conference

I prepared my presentation after the paper I submitted for the "HST 2012" conference. After the DOE Transmission workshop (reported in an earlier post) I began to wonder whether a multi-terminal HVDC loop could actually protect the region inside the loop from magnetic storm effects, and I added this consideration into my HST 2012 presentation. I thought that perhaps a large conductive loop would be able to counter the effect of a geo-solar magnetic storm because the current induced by the changing magnetic field would counter the effect, so I did some calculations. I was surprised that my calculations showed what an immense current can be generated in a conductive loop by a fairly small change in the geomagmetic field. To be specific, I did a worst-case scenario calculation of a 2.0 microtesla change in the average magnetic field (a bit worse than the estimated magnetic field change during the 1859 solar magnetic storm, the worst in recent history) through a 1000 km diameter superconducting loop (though a pair of elpipe loops are not properly superconductors, their resistance is quite low, and this is a reasonable upper bound scenario): the calculated induced current is one trillion amps! It is thus obvious that some other means of coping with a geomagnetic storm is needed.

Elpipe loops with HVDC circuit breakers between each next neighbor pair of power taps are great for grid stability in numerous other ways (severe weather resistance, terrorism resistance, general resillience of the grid).


I have so far found that US-based venture capital investors will not take an interest in the elpipe because it is "too big, too long term." I have therefore put my startup Electric Pipeline Corporation onto Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/elpipes 
in hopes that I can get started on this important (and expensive) development soon. It would help me move this forward if you will "follow" me on Wefunder; I expect the US Securities and Exchange Commission will be issuing rules by May that will allow me to raise funds though Wefunder (this is not legal yet, but by following EPC, you will help move me to the front of the queue when the final rules are announced).