From what I understand, we're close. Almost ungodly so. Like, another ten years or so of R&D close. In the grand scheme of things, that's not very long at all.
Also, superconducting power lines are a thing. It's just not a widespread thing because power companies don't want to make that kind of investment in the infrastructure - no matter that SCPL's will improve grid efficiency by leaps and bounds, make it easier to place power plants, and help make blackouts a thing of the past.
With superconducting power lines you can get the energy from the receiving plant at the end of the orbital tether down to the distribution station at the base, and send it wherever it needs to go, with virtually no energy loss along the way.
Also, superconducting power lines are a thing. It's just not a widespread thing because power companies don't want to make that kind of investment in the infrastructure - no matter that SCPL's will improve grid efficiency by leaps and bounds, make it easier to place power plants, and help make blackouts a thing of the past.
With superconducting power lines you can get the energy from the receiving plant at the end of the orbital tether down to the distribution station at the base, and send it wherever it needs to go, with virtually no energy loss along the way.