Robert McKnight
4-25-09
10:10
Space solar is also much more efficient than Earth solar, isn't subject to atmospheric conditions such as cloud cover, and can "soak up the sun" day and night, as there is usually no difference between the two in space. One study found that "a single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous Earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today."
Power is to be generated by 2016. 200 megawatts of space solar energy have already been purchased, which enough to power 200,000 homes for a year.
Makes perfect sense to me. Get a satellite all up in that flux... Sounds great. It reminds me of those offshore wind power arrays. It's not as if the littering of oceans with wind turbines or Earth's orbit with solar satellites is great, but if we've got to do something to ween ourselves from oil (and we do), and if we're going to put these things somewhere, it seems logical to put them in places where they'll be least conspicuous. While the coastal sea creatures are getting put out by giant pillars, they aren't getting decimated by climate change.
3 comments:
That is very cool! Sounds like a great solution to many problems. I wonder how the politics will play out on that - space may be the next ocean in terms of territorial claims.
Incredible news! It sounds like a fixture of science fiction, but it sounds so practical and efficient. We may have found a serious solution to our energy crisis, or at least something that will effectively reduce our dependence on our dirty methods of energy production.
I have to admit, I haven't always been on the "going green" band wagon, but I very recently have been trying to get a little more knowledgeable about the topic. This is a VERY cool story! I know that people have been looking for solutions to our gas dependence for years, but it is amazing to see the dramatic increase of progress.
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