← Back to context Comment by pfdietz 2 years ago > 44,000 TWCheck your arithmetic; it's considerably more than that. 2 comments pfdietz Reply feoren 2 years ago There's a considerable difference between the amount that hits the atmosphere and the amount that hits the surface of the Earth. My number includes average cloud cover. It's this order of magnitude, and a higher number only strengthens my point. dr_dshiv 2 years ago 173,000 terawatts [1]So, 1% at 20% capacity is 346 terawatts. That seems like a reasonable upper limit for earth systems.[1] https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/live-programs/energy-on-a-spher...
feoren 2 years ago There's a considerable difference between the amount that hits the atmosphere and the amount that hits the surface of the Earth. My number includes average cloud cover. It's this order of magnitude, and a higher number only strengthens my point.
dr_dshiv 2 years ago 173,000 terawatts [1]So, 1% at 20% capacity is 346 terawatts. That seems like a reasonable upper limit for earth systems.[1] https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/live-programs/energy-on-a-spher...
There's a considerable difference between the amount that hits the atmosphere and the amount that hits the surface of the Earth. My number includes average cloud cover. It's this order of magnitude, and a higher number only strengthens my point.
173,000 terawatts [1]
So, 1% at 20% capacity is 346 terawatts. That seems like a reasonable upper limit for earth systems.
[1] https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/live-programs/energy-on-a-spher...