We’ve all heard renewable energy doubters say “solar power is great, but what happens when the sun doesn’t shine?” There are lots of different energy storage systems that seek to answer that question, but researchers at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow are taking a more extreme approach.
A team of engineers from the University are currently testing equipment that would allow us to place solar farms in space and transfer the collected energy back to earth through microwaves or lasers. And it would finally silence the haters, because after all, the sun never sets in space.
“Space provides a fantastic source for collecting solar power and we have the advantage of being able to gather it regardless of the time of the day or indeed the weather conditions,” said lead researcher Massimiliano Vasile, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at Strathclyde, who is leading the research.
Photo Credit: University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Of course, this is hardly the first time it’s been suggested that renewable energy can be harvested in space. NASA and other national space programs have long utilized solar panels on satellite wings and space stations to help generate energy while in orbit. But those were self-contained systems that kept the power on-site, while Vasile’s project would send the power back down to earth.
The University team points out that if successful, their system could bypass a common problem of solar farms built in deserts or other remote areas that see a lot of sunshine: it’s too darn difficult to get the power from the farm to the cities where it’s needed most. Through the use of microwaves or lasers this new technology would be able to beam the energy back down to earth, directly to specific areas. Not only would this method be more reliable, it would also need for bulky energy storage devices on ground as it would provide a constant delivery of solar energy.
Currently, the team is focused on building a stable platform on which the solar panels could be mounted. Soon, they hope to move forward with the next stage of the project which involves developing the reflectors needed to collect the solar power.
Photo Credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video/Flickr