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An inventor in Illinois is working on a device to generate electricity from lightning. While a couple of recent articles in different publications have covered this concept, none of them have much in the way of details or particulars. The best coverage seems to be from Inhabitat, where I first heard about this.
Each small three-foot bolt generates enough electricity to illuminate a 60-watt light bulb for 20 minutes. But a full-scale system, LeRoy believes, could power 30,000 homes for a day with just one lightning bolt. Given that the average Midwest thunderstorm releases enough electrical energy to power the entire U.S. for 20 minutes, who knows what the potential is for the harvesting of lightning fields and arrays of bolt conductors.
This is being covered (in Business Week among other sources) along with some other things we've mentioned on EcoGeek in the past such as parasails for cargo ships, the Tornado Generator, AquaBuOY wave power generator and algae biofuel. We assume it falls into the same range of feasible, early-development technology. But while there is only sketchy information about the concept for now, we'll just note it without comment about its potential until we can find out more information about it.
Previously on EcoGeek:
Using Lighting to Create Hydrogen or Create Hype?
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Comments (24)
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written by John Fill, October 17, 2007
If you're really pedantic, nuclear energy is solar too, because all the matter in the Earth formed from the elements fused in the young Sun (give or take a negligible amount from comet strikes).
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written by Todd Ridolph, October 28, 2007
Does anyone know of anyone currently funding projects related to the 'Harnessing of Lightning for Conversion into Usable Electricity'?
If so, I would be interested in knowing about the research.
Sincerely,
Todd B Ridolph
If so, I would be interested in knowing about the research.
Sincerely,
Todd B Ridolph
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written by malibugene, November 06, 2007
I read about a farmer somewhere near the Canadian border that was zapped with electricity when he touched a barbed wire fence, which was not connected to anything electric. It was theorized that the wire was collecting energy from the magnetic fields that create the Auroras in the north latitudes. It seems to me that setting up a grid of wires over unused acreages in the northern latitudes could harvest this enormous source of potential energy.
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written by Cool materials, November 21, 2007
There is still much to learn about nature power and it will take long to make devices working on nature power wide spread.
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written by gloria Allen, November 27, 2007
Sounds like it has a lot of potential. Add to this hurricanes, combining the power of lightening with the intensity of wind. And tornados. But how to harness these beasts?
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written by Steve LeRoy, December 05, 2007
Thanks for the comments..I realize this idea seems impossible, but my lab experiments prove that more than 1 million volts in a spark gap can be tapped with emf induction coils at the base of the strike rod into manageable voltages. I am as yet unsure where this will lead. Steve
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written by Steve LeRoy, December 13, 2007
Unfortunately there is a corporation that has gone to vengeful lengths on a paid PR campaign to discredit my years of research and development. So I have destroyed my lightning prototype to avoid further involvement with this endeavor. I hope someone else develops this concept to completion.
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written by srivatsa, January 23, 2008
in my view conversion will be possible if we can use a very high rated stepdown transformer..this could actually be done by diverting the channel of the lightening before it is earthed.though the idea is abstract i think it works if we can cannelise the lightening energy
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written by Pecos Bill, July 10, 2008
Clouds. That is the Machine Invented By God to Make Lightening. What if: You figured out how a Cloud can use Air,Light,Dust,and Moisture to arrange Positive and Negative IONS to produce the electrical charge we see as LIGHTENING....Then you would not need to STORE it. You could make it. Then you could develope a device....a small "Cloud"....to put into your Vehicle....It would produce "Lightening" when you push the accelerator.....No Moving Parts....Just a CLOUD.
das.....All Rights Reserved.
das.....All Rights Reserved.
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written by Rich, July 28, 2008
hi i am also looking and studying to harness the power of lightnning and belive you could divert the electricity in many directions reducing the power for each generater it is possible and would reduce the cabon emissions 10 fold
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written by hinduja, August 05, 2008
i would like 2 know the extent of feasibility in this process
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written by hinduja, August 05, 2008
i would like 2 know the extent of feasibility in this process 
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written by haneesh, September 08, 2008
one may know that avery high voltage is discharged to earth through lightning.if it is possible to use this voltage to electrolise water into hydrogen and oxygen which can be used in fuel cells to power automobiles and others in future,whose waste will be pure water...isn't it a better idea!!!
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written by gaurav, September 16, 2008
respected sir,
i am a student from india and am pursuing a project under the same title as you are.I would like to get in touch with you and learn what can be done in this regard.please help if you can.
kind regards,
gaurav
i am a student from india and am pursuing a project under the same title as you are.I would like to get in touch with you and learn what can be done in this regard.please help if you can.
kind regards,
gaurav
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written by saurabh, September 28, 2008
dear sir,
i am a student of B.Tech from India and am working on a similar project as you are.I would like to get in touch with you and learn what can be done in this regard. please help if you can.
i am a student of B.Tech from India and am working on a similar project as you are.I would like to get in touch with you and learn what can be done in this regard. please help if you can.
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written by Noah Schieber, March 31, 2009
I have been researching how to manage and use lightning in a practical sense. The main hang up of course is converting this extreme amount of energy to a manageable potential energy that we can use when we need. I like the idea of using lightning in electrolysis to create hydrogen that can later be used in fuel cells. Is there anyone who knows more about this or is aware of any research being done regarding this?
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written by green bug, April 16, 2009
I was wondering if there was a way of trapping a lightning bolt, negotive or possitive.
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written by Asim Amitav Jena, June 16, 2009
Hi
I was going through this forum. I feel it would be of great benifit to the humanity if we can effectively tap energy of lightening to provide energy to thousands of homes. What we need is a good business model to commercialize the porject. I am currently doing MBA in one of the universities in USA. I am interested to know more about your successful experiments and see if we together can find a way to make the project viable on a large scale.
My email id is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Please email me..
I was going through this forum. I feel it would be of great benifit to the humanity if we can effectively tap energy of lightening to provide energy to thousands of homes. What we need is a good business model to commercialize the porject. I am currently doing MBA in one of the universities in USA. I am interested to know more about your successful experiments and see if we together can find a way to make the project viable on a large scale.
My email id is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Please email me..
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written by asokkalidass, August 29, 2009
I am an undergraduate student doing my prefinal year in mechatronics engineering . I am doing my project on Harneshing electricity from lightning . Hence kindly help me on storage of power from lightning.
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written by Steven LeRoy, January 08, 2010
3 years later and interesting people are still responding. THANK YOU. I actually spent 10 thousand $ to build a 15 foot tall 20 MILLION volt tesla coil in a rural setting for testing power in vs power stored. Yes step down transformers with current limiters and diverters/time delay are def needed. I am also working on compact high HP magnet motors for vehicle use and to ELIMINATE THE POWER GRID by powering each home individually. And 70,000,000 US vehicles. Let USA lead the world again in technology and wisdom. tts steve -
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written by leland, February 21, 2010
please contact me. I would like to further discuss some ideas.
thanks
leland kay
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
thanks
leland kay
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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#2> at best you can increase the chance of getting lightning where you want it by putting a metal object as the highest point near by.
#1> is much more difficult,
I think it is something like 100,000 Amps on average combined with 1 billion ( 1,000,000,000 ) Volts to get a 1,000 foot bolt... or about 100,000,000,000,000 Watts And all that energy hit you in a fraction of a second...
Best of luck with that... but ultimately like just about all energy other than nuclear.... it is all Solar Energy as the thunder storms get all their energy from the sun anyway...