Every day we applaud and encourage all types of
renewable energy development and deployment, in whatever forms make the
most sense for their application: distributed solar PV, offshore wind,
biomass conversions, hydropower (and hydro storage), geothermal. But
what about those at the edge of our universe, the ones really pushing
renewable energy to its limits? During this holiday season as we reflect on the accomplishments of
the past year and prepare to look ahead into 2014, we also take time to
salute those who peer even further into the distance, envisioning where
renewable energy can go -- and it's to some really interesting and
far-out places. Some of them may be a little hard to bring to fruition,
but all of them get us thinking about what's possible, and that's where
the best ideas start.
To the Moon!
Since solar energy comes from the sun, why not cut out part of the
middleman? Japanese engineering and construction firm Shimizu envisions
the "Luna Ring,"
a 11,000-km belt of solar panels encircling the moon's equator, in a
width from just "a few kilometers to 400 km." Power harvested from the
sun would be transmitted via to enormous (20-km diameter) wireless
antennas, and shot out to earth via 20-GHz microwaves, with radio
beacons ensuring accurate transmission. Alongside, high-density lasers
would be beamed to offshore facilities on Earth to be concentrated by a
Fresnel lens and mirrors to generate solar PV power; the lasers' thermal
energy would be harvested as well. Receivers and massive cabling on
Earth would convert all of that into electric power, to be supplied to
grids and for conversion of hydrogen. The moon itself would be tapped to
produce resources to make the solar cells and panels and construction
materials. Robots would perform most of the tasks, and the equipment
would be assembled in space and lowered to the surface for installation.
The Luna Ring reportedly would supply up to 13,000 TW of
power, or what Shimizu says would match the world's energy demand by
2030. Exploration would begin within the next few years, followed by a
pilot demo both on Earth and the moon in the next decade, and
construction beginning in 2035.
If lunar solar installs seem a bit too risky, how about orbiting
solar projects? One company has NASA backing to use robots for building
structures in orbit... using the most popular concept running, "additive
manufacturing" -- essentially melting a metal (or plastics, in less
fancy versions) in precise patterns to build up a tough finished
product. The Trusselator and the "SpiderFab"
would enable fabrication of carbon fiber truss structures, including
solar arrays and other structures like antennae and transmitters with
"kilometer-scale apertures," to help enable lower-cost space exploration
and development.
for more visit renewableenergyworld
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