One of the basic problems that stop the complete and competent use of solar energy is the simple fact that most often we just do not have enough sun hitting the panels and despite our best efforts, it always seems that we miss more than we hit. Add to this the simple fact that the efficiency of solar cells has almost never crossed the 40% mark till date and that half of the 24 hours in a day they spend their time in darkness. It is amazing that despite these constraints the technology is as popular as it is and that in itself is a tribute to green energy resources. But what if you could get sun shining on your panels for 24 hours a day and 365 days a year at maximum efficiency?
The final frontier might just be the new venue for clean solar energy. Pranav Mehta, the director of India operations for the California based solar space developer Space Island Group, envisions giant floating power plants, harvesting gigawatts of solar energy 22,000 miles in the sky and beaming it down to earth-based receivers. Obviously it is not a simple venture that can just ‘take-off’, but it surely makes truckloads of sense and even more.
The satellites would coordinate in geosynchronous orbits and the converted electricity would ultimately stream to ground unity grids. In addition to posing spectacular engineering challenges, the cost of launching massive, super-advance photovoltaic installations into space is simply too difficult to contemplate. Add to this the fact that the priority of the ruling heads of the world either lies in reclaiming their seats of waging meaningless wars, this seems more unlikely. But in a world that is in grave need of green energy sources, it might be very well a reality that is just around the corner.
