PROGRESS TOWARDS CONSTRUCTION

Development work has progressed far beyond what we thought possible without structured funding in place. Through skilled volunteer efforts, some extraordinary bargain hunting luck and much sweat equity we have completed the 1:12 scale twin prototypes, assembled the Engineering Lab in San Francisco and acquired an ideal 81 acre site for the towers in Nevada.  Preliminary machine designs and cost breakdowns are complete. We are now seeking capital funding for the first construction phase.

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The San Francisco Engineering Laboratory. This 7000 sq.ft. hi-bay laboratory space in San Francisco features an overhead gantry crane, loading ramp, office areas and three-phase power.  Six shipping containers inside the building form modularized shops for electronics, assembly, machining and welding.  The modular nature of these facilities allows ready transport to the Nevada Site once construction begins.  The Engineering Lab supports engineering studies, prototyping of complex mechanical and electrical subassemblies for the towers and development of control system components.  We plan to begin prototyping the 50,000A primary drive system at the Engineering Lab once we raise funding for the 6500V silicon and high power components.

The 1:12 Scale Prototype Towers.  These twin prototypes serve as an accurate scale model of the proposed full-scale 12-story Lightning Lab design, allowing detailed study the complex dynamics between two phased, coupled, high voltage resonators.  The twins have already revealed many interesting abilities, including a unexpectedly strong tendency to couple power wirelessly, over sizeable distances.  We studied this peculiar ability in greater detail, and published a paper at the 2008 North American Power Symposium.

The Nevada Site.  We have acquired an 81 acre parcel in Southern Nevada, ideally suited towards hosting the Lightning Lab facility.  The site is located about 10 miles SSW of Hoover Dam, shown above.

Equipment.  Auctions, donations and bargain hunting efforts have yielded a vertical mill, tooling lathe, bandsaws, an air compressor, a welding table and a wide variety of electronic gear. We now have enough equipment to begin the first two design studies, however the remaining design studies will require the purchase of highly specialized materials and new components, which are not available by barter or donation. First-round funding will be required to obtain these critical components and materials.