Wireless energy (and supposedly cheap too, in the long run)


Posted on July 23, 2008  /  0 Comments

Here is the answer to all those longed for a day when energy could be delivered without costly messy wires

Op-Ed Contributor – Satellites With Solar Panels Can Beam the Sun’s Energy to Earth. – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com

Science fiction? Actually, no — the technology already exists. A space solar power system would involve building large solar energy collectors in orbit around the Earth. These panels would collect far more energy than land-based units, which are hampered by weather, low angles of the sun in northern climes and, of course, the darkness of night.

Once collected, the solar energy would be safely beamed to Earth via wireless radio transmission, where it would be received by antennas near cities and other places where large amounts of power are used. The received energy would then be converted to electric power for distribution over the existing grid. Government scientists have projected that the cost of electric power generation from such a system could be as low as 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is within the range of what consumers pay now.

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