Solar Power From Space

National Geographic reported that it may be possible to collect solar power from space (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/12/111205-solar-power-from-space/?source=hp_dl3_news_solar20111208 ). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans on launching demo satellites "scheduled to be up by the end of the next decade". According to National Geographic "The most frequently cited barrier to deploying—or even testing—many of the existing space-based solar platforms is the cost of launching the necessary equipment into orbit.". This Technology could be a great solution for the energy crisis. Since the power would be collected in space there would not be problems, such as cloud cover. Also no solar energy would be lost to the atmosphere , since space acts like a vacuum. One downside of this is how to get the power to earth. Stephen Sweeney's team belives a narrow beam would be the best solution. However he also stated "which means you have a particular point on Earth where you can target energy delivery." which may be hard to do for such a distance. Some people believe it wll be great for disasters. The energy could be "rolled up" and sent to disaster sites a lot faster then generators and other equipment. The same could be done for the energy , which would most likely become cheaper in the long run.

While many flaws still exist with this technology the future for it looks very bright. Solar power from space may be costly to start but I believe the benefits would be worth it. Fossil fuels will not be around forever and this is a very plausible and efficient alternative. There is so much that can be done with this technology that would help save our environment.