Scientist and Nasa agree. It’s not a matter of if a solar storm will knock out our energy grid it’s a matter of when.  According to NASA:

“Solar storms are a variety of eruptions of mass and energy from the solar surface. Flares, prominences, sunspots, coronal mass ejections are the common harbingers of solar activity, as are plagues and other related phenomena are seen at other wavelengths. They all involve sudden releases of stored magnetic energy, which accelerates the hot gasses near the surface or in the corona of the Sun”.

Why is this a concern to those of us here on earth? These storms bring with them an electromagnetic energy that can wreak havoc on electrical grids and turn out the lights for months maybe even years.  For most communities this would create mass chaos, shutting down infrastructure and communications worldwide.  For the Nomadic People of Mongolia however, this would put them at the top of the charts for resources and independence living.

Mongolia’s has about 800,000 nomads that live a lifestyle seen for thousands of years.  For many, this lifestyle goes back generations and is shared across family generations.

These people live a simple off the grid lifestyle. They live off the land and move around as resources permit. However, in 2013, the Mongolian government decided to get involved and help these families modernize with portable solar systems they can take with them as they move.

Currently, the majority of home solar systems do not directly provide electricity to homes, due to the cost. For most the power is simply redistributed to an aging and unsecured grid, providing the homeowner with a refund on the energy used.  However taking efforts to find more effective ways to take the grid dependency out of the solar equation for home use would provide a more secure future for our communities nationwide. 

For more information about the Mongolian solar project check out Aljazeera and Nasa.