PV Gap

Calvin Said:

Is it possible to store the energy from lightning, and use it for electricity, cars, and homes?

We Answered:

Possible, but in spite of Jack's optimism, not considered too practical. From the ref., a typical strike has about 360 kwh of energy, of which only 0.1% to 1% is delivered at the strike point, since most of the energy is dissipated heating the air along its path. The other issues are frequency of strikes in a given area and the height and spacing of towers needed to capture a good percentage of these. And there is the effect of decreasing E-field, or attractiveness relative to surrounding terrain, as the charge and voltage build up in the storage device. But it would be interesting to build and test a prototype.