U.S. NAVY Solar Concept is Out of This World!

Our concepts of solar energy is a solar panel on a rooftop that converts sunlight into energy during the daylight hours. The only drawback is they won’t work at night or on a cloudy day. In addition, our atmosphere blocks much of the suns energy which limits the amount of energy traditional solar panels can collect.

However, if we put a solar panel in orbit, around 22,000 miles up, there would be nothing to prevent absorbing all of the suns power. Scientists think we can collect energy from solar panels in space and then beam the energy back down to Earth in our lifetime

A California-based solar technology company is banking on it being reality by the end of the decade. Not only would the energy source be 100% clean energy, but it would also be unlimited.

This idea may sound like science fiction, However, the US Navy have revealed plans to utilize large arrays of space solar modules to send solar power to Earth. The application could be used to power cities as well as military installations.

At the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Dr. Paul Jaffe has already tested two prototypes that could capture and transmit solar power. The modules would be assembled in space by robots. These modules would be as large as one kilometer in size.

Sceptics’ main objection to space solar power would be shooting a massive beam of energy through our atmosphere. Jaffe says that won’t be an issue. “Modern technology already uses radio waves and microwaves to send energy all the time. Radio waves are typically only associated with everyday electronics, such as radios or cell phones and are not associated with carrying usable amounts of power.”

That research is already being advanced by NRL’s Space Robotics Group. NRL has proposed using similar technology at a very high altitude in the stratosphere. We wouldn’t get the same 24-hour energy, but by being above the clouds we would have a longer daytime being farther from the horizon.

Although this technology is still in its infancy there is a real possibility that one day soon, we could power our T.V. with electricity from outer space.
Matt Helland
S.V.P. NAEA