Solar storms – intense bursts of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy – could put our nation’s power grid at risk, interrupting communications and technology. Find out what experts are doing to protect us from solar disasters.

1. WHY SOLAR STORMS COULD BE THE
BIGGEST RISKS TO TECHNOLOGY

2. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
WHY SOLAR STORMS COULD BE THE BIGGEST
RISKS TO TECHNOLOGY
Solar storms – intense bursts of radiation coming from the release of magnetic
energy – could put our nation’s power grid at risk, interrupting communications
and technology. Find out what experts are doing to protect us from solar
disasters.

3. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
As we continue to fight the effects of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, businesses
increasingly rely on digital solutions and communications networks.
But what if those systems were taken out by nature?
There’s a real risk that a geomagnetic storm triggered by a burst of solar energy could
overwhelm our power grids, shutting down cell towers and crippling worldwide
communications.
Scientists are working to protect our connections by using space-based research to learn
about the sun’s energy. Experts are also doing everything they can to safeguard power
stations against the effects of solar storms.

4. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
WHAT IS A SOLAR STORM?
The sun occasionally releases pent-up energy in the form of a blast of plasma called a coronal mass
ejection (CME) or solar flare. CMEs can dramatically change Earth’s magnetic field, which can cause power
grids to fail as equipment is affected or destroyed.
If this happened today, the disaster would knock out power plants, transmission lines, and substations for
entire regions or cities. Huge swaths of the world's population could be without power for weeks at a time,
leading to health crises, food shortages, and devastating economic effects.
Across the U.S. federal government, over 25 different programs are working on ways to prevent solar
storms from damaging our power grid.

5. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT AGAINST SOLAR STORMS?
Rob Manning, vice president for transmission at the Electric Power Research Institute, says that
utilities are already working on solutions. Some organizations are building capacitor banks
that can absorb and dissipate excess energy. Electricity-dampening devices called Faraday
cages can also surround critical equipment and provide protection against currents.
The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) is also building flywheels that can physically drain excess
energy from the grid by spinning faster or slower.

6. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
However, none of these solutions is perfect. “There are some devices that will ground that
current out and remove it from the system, but it creates some unintended consequences,”
Manning says. “It’s like taking a drug that fixes a problem you might have, but it has unintended
side effects.”
The best way to prevent the disastrous effects of solar storms is to predict them in advance. The
Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) provides crucial data about the timing and speed of
solar bursts, and even better warning systems are in development. With proper warning, power
systems could be shut down safely to reduce or eliminate the risk of overload.

7. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
In 2019, the National Science Foundation also started releasing images from the Daniel K.
Inouye Solar Telescope, the world’s most powerful solar observatory. The telescope is one of the
solar astronomy projects that are part of the overall effort to protect our planet from the effects
of a catastrophic solar flare.
Solar storms powerful enough to wreak havoc on electronic equipment strike Earth about every
25 years. The last major solar flare was recorded in April 2001, which was more powerful than
the 1989 one that disrupted power grids in Canada. Luckily, the flare was not aimed directly
towards Earth.

8. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
For more on future trends, sign up for my newsletter, and check out my books
‘Tech Trends in Practice’ and ‘Business Trends in Practice.'

9. © 2021 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker,
futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and
companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data
more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as
artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is
a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for
Forbes. Every day Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers
and shares content that reaches millions of readers.

10. hello@bernardmarr.com
www.bernardmarr.com