New Uses for Solar
Among the many innovative technologies we’ll see in the near future, here are a couple of innovative uses for solar coming down the pike: solar energy beamed down from space and solar used to recycled carbon dioxide into fuel. These and hundreds of other technologies we can barely imagine today offer solutions to our climate change challenge – if we can cross the threshold and put a price on carbon through US legislation and if countries take a stand and commit to moving forward to a prosperous, green economy at Copenhagen. Solar from Space? Yes, the first contract for beaming solar energy from space has been approved. As part of its effort to obtain 33% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the contract. California utility PG&E will receive solar energy generated by Solaren Corp’s orbiting satellites through a long term power purchase agreement. Solaren says it can provide 1700 GW-hours of energy a year for the 15-year contract, which starts in 2016. Once the 200 MW solar plant is hoisted into space (no mean feat) it has the advantage of 24-hour a day sunlight. No clouds to worry about. The day/ […]