Costs are the biggest obstacle. Solaren continues to raise funds for the pilot project. The way to bring down costs, of course, is to build to scale and produce a lot of electricity - that requires large rockets. Solaren's vision is to follow this pilot with 1000 MW plants - as big as nuclear plants, but that produce cheaper electricity.
Marty Hoffert, a physicist at New York University, told Space that solar space technologies can deliver energy for the same price as those on Earth. Rather, the problem is we always compare the price with that of coal. He's not so confident in Solaren's plan and worries that if it fails, it would be a blow to space solar.
Solar for CO2 Recycling?
Another exciting application of solar energy is the potential of using it to recycle carbon dioxide into fuel.
Sandia National Lab has demonstrated a working prototype of their "Sunshine to Petrol" machine, which uses concentrated solar to reverse combustion of CO2.
The machine uses concentrated solar to chemically "reenergize" carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and water, which can then be used to make hydrogen or serve as a building block to synthesize "Liquid Solar Fuel" - a liquid combustible fuel, such as methanol or even gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
Originally, researchers were working on a device that would break water into hydrogen and oxygen, when they realized they could break down CO2 instead of water.
The technology holds real promise is reducing CO2 emissions while preserving the option to use fuels that we're accustomed to, says Ellen Stechel, Sandia Fuels and Energy Transitions Department Manager. The current oil and gas infrastructure doesn't have to be modified or re-created as it would to carry hydrogen. In addition to Sandia, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is funding the project.
Rich Diver, who invented the machine, says, ""What's exciting about this invention is that it will result in fossil fuels being used at least twice, meaning less carbon dioxide being put into the atmosphere and a reduction of the rate that fossil fuels are pulled out of the ground." The CO2 produced at a coal or power plant or factory would be captured and then reduced to carbon monoxide in the machine, which could then be used to create any kind of liquid fuel.
Hopefully, in ten years time, when the machine might be ready for commercialization, power plants and factories will have significantly reduced carbon emissions. If so, what's left would be recycled and they would have a new revenue stream for carbon emissions.
Most exciting is the prospect of capturing CO2 that's already in the atmosphere and turning that into fuels, which is the project's long term goal.
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