Solar Power From Outer Space Could Reduce Fossil Fuel Dependence
Rising fuel costs have spurred some pretty wacky ideas. One that maybe isn’t so crazy is harvesting solar power from space. While the idea isn’t new—NASA and The US Department of Energy studied it throughout the 1970s—the time has come when it might not be too expensive to start pursuing it.
Pravna Mehta, the director of India operations for Space Island Group, a company working to develop solar satellites, thinks space energy has excellent potential. According to his vision, satellites would electromagnetically beam solar energy to ground-based receivers, where the energy would be converted to electricity and transferred to power grids.
Since satellites in high Earth orbits are unaffected by earth’s shadows, the energy would be available every day without fail.
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Unfortunately, it may be awhile before we see any concrete results from this idea.
While a 2007 Pentagon report encourages the development of space power, Charles Miller of the Space Frontier Association estimates that it will only be possible within the next ten years if we act now.
At the same time, getting into space isn’t cheap, the robotic technology to create solar satellites is not yet available, and someone has to take care of the billion dollar bill for the whole thing.
But with interest from Russia, China, the European Union, and India—and growing anxiety around the world about energy access— perhaps we might be using energy from outer space within our lifetimes.
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This project has been on the shelf since the 70s for a good reason, The cost of the 100s of estimated rocket launched required to ship materials and workers alone makes this whole project not viable. If the only advantage it offers is a never setting sun, it will always be cheaper to build solar plants on the ground.
Grandiose! Magnififabolous! “Manhattan Project” scale! and look at the ka-Ka that got us into! a bomb to destroy all mankind, Cowboys! and fission waste we cannot cope with to this day! First, we must try the small. known stuff, and get it right, like the Wind Corridor, and South Western deserts filled with Solar Thermal Power Plants Producing, and perhaps even annexing or renting desert from Mexico for mirrors! Offshore Wind Power, well studied, feasible, and can source enough power for the whole nation, in perpetuity, gets a blind eye? Not spectacular, or risky enough? Dumb-ass Yankee Doodles! Get on with it! Do what you have to do and forget the pie in the sky Bull Shiite! Put your rockets away, they are expensive, low return toys! Build the Wind Turbines, the Solar Mirrors, and the power infrastructures you desperately and most immediately need! Plan them so as they can continue development even through your economic downturns, and so that corporate greed and capitalist’s ravenous appetites can’t hurt them, through socialist government policies, so they don’t collapse in GM(American) style defeat! And, Get on with it! before it is too late! Before we are “Third World” with no means to proceed - we may be too late already! Most American capital has fled our shores to Asia, to build a new powerful counter-society there,with capital earned and having sweat equity here! stolen by the shyster capitalist uber rich from us for a % ROI, no patriotism involved! We were sucked in by contract, and while we planned “Moon Walks” and depended on depleting Arab oil, instead of Solar, Wind, Wave, Tidal, geo-Thermal and super insulation technologies! Will China do perpetual Solar, Wave, Wind tidal, geo thermal and super insulation projects in practical manner, while we foolishly cavort on Mars, prancing and planting flags on indefensible folly for egomaniac reasons alone? while we try to build “Death Beams” in space to aim at ourselves for power? The dreams of nine year olds? Just how energy starved does America get before it grows up and does the right things? Will we make it or revel in our follies til it is too late? Put down the “Bong” America! Time of reckoning? When the next downturn comes! Soon enough!