As we shift to green sources of power, we have come up against the issue that we become at the mercy of fluctuations and how much is collectable. Big demand when there’s no wind? Whoops. People using a lot of electricity at night when there’s no sun? Whoops.
One answer to this is electrical storage. There are various approaches to this, all storing electrical potential in a different way. Chemical potential within batteries which are expensive and use ethically questionable sources to create. Kinetic potential with flywheels. Gravitational potential with pumped hydro.
But do we need to store energy? The sun works 24/7, it’s just from one person’s perspective does it fluctuate. Am I missing something other than it being a monumental civil engineering project to have one massive distribution ring around the planet with solar panels to meet the sun where it currently is? One thing to consider would be voltage drop. Some what sci-fi, but why not transport the light to where it’s needed a la fiber optic/mirrors?
This would help us flatten out the curve of supply to meet demand, and take us closer to a type-1 civilisation on the Kardashev scale.
One alternative I found out about recently were High voltage direct current (HVDC) lines which could be the equitorial backbone that links a ring of solar panels.
Or, why deal with ground infrastructure at all? Space-based solar power (SBSP). Space stations that condense the solar power into a microwave beam down to where it’s needed?