California regulators on Thursday approved an ambitious project to beam solar energy from space starting in 2016.
Under a power purchase agreement approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, utility Pacific Gas & Electric will purchase electricity from technology provider Solaren if it successfully deploys its space-based solar collectors, which would be the first of its kind.
PG&E has contracted to buy 1,700 gigawatt hours per year for 15 years from Solar for its space-based solar arrays, which will have a generating capacity of 200 megawatts. That's smaller than a full scale nuclear or natural gas plant but enough to supply thousands of homes. The anticipated date of operation is June, 2016.
(Credit:
PG&E)
Space-based solar, an idea that has been around for decades, is being pursued by companies and researchers around the world. Its key advantage over land-based solar or wind power is that can generate renewable energy around the clock. The California Public Utilities Commission gave the go-ahead to the project in an effort to meet the state's aggressive renewable energy goals.
Solaren's plan calls for using satellites equipped with solar photovoltaic panels and mirrors to generate electricity, which is transmitted via microwaves to a ground receiver station in Fresno County, Calif. The receiver then converts the radio frequency energy to electricity and it is fed into the power grid.
Based in Southern California, Solaren is run by veterans from aerospace companies. Engineers have designed a relatively lightweight system around a Mylar mirror that's 1 kilometer in diameter to concentrate light onto the solar panels to squeeze more electricity from them, according to an article in Grist.
A PG&E representative on Thursday said that the utility will only pay Solaren if it delivers the power. The cost of the electricity is competitive with land-based renewable energy sources, he added.
"If this works, it would be a real game changer. But for our customers, there's really no or little risk, so it's worth supporting something that has credible people behind it with years of experience who think they can make it work," said Jonathan Marshall from PG&E.
When announcing the PG&E deal in April, Solaren CEO Gary Spirnak said the company plans to run pilot tests before an actual launch, drawing on company employees' experience in aerospace.
"Once in geosynchronous orbit, a series of SSP (space solar power) pilot plant system tests will validate the satellites and ground receive station functions and verify performance, safety and key parameters to ensure successful operations. When we complete these steps, we will then be ready to deliver power to PG&E in 2016," Sprinak said.
Pacific Gas & Electric is going to great lengths--all the way to space--in its quest for renewable energy.
The California utility on Monday said that it will seek approval from regulators to purchase 200 megawatts worth of solar energy delivered from stealth space solar power company Solaren over 15 years.
(Credit:
Space Energy)
The idea of space-based solar power (SBSP) is to place a device in space that can convert solar energy into a usable form and have it transmitted wirelessly to Earth. Scientists have thought to capture solar energy from space for decades but has it has never been done commercially.
Solaren proposes placing solar panels on a satellite to generate electricity that is converted to radio frequency energy on-board and sent to a ground station in California. The receiver then converts the radio frequency energy to electricity and it is fed into the power grid.
The goal of the project is to provide electricity to PG&E by 2016, said Solaren CEO Gary Spirnak in a Q and A posted on PG&E's company blog.
"While a system of this scale and exact configuration has not been built, the underlying technology is very mature and is based on communications satellite technology. For over 45 years, satellites have collected solar energy in earth orbit via solar cells, and converted it to radio frequency energy for transmissions to earth receive stations. This is the same energy conversion process Solaren uses for its (space solar power) plant," he said.
PG&E, which has significant investments in different forms of renewable energy, said that there is no risk to the utility since it only pays for power produced.
The advantage of space solar power is that energy can be harnessed at all times, even at night or when it's cloudy. Solaren's contract calls for it to deliver baseload power, the electricity needed to meet customer demand.
In its posting, PG&E executives said that generating space solar power cost effectively is a major challenge, but the people at Solaren have a lot of experience in space and satellites. The field also can also draw on years of research.
Another company called Space Energy has been formed to also tap solar energy from space using a similar technique as Solaren.
Satellites flying in this formation can analyze the chemicals in and behaviors of clouds close to Earth.
(Credit: NASA)New methods of using satellites to examine clouds are helping scientists to understand how pollution influences rainfall.
Researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have used a group of satellites known as the Afternoon Constellation, or A-Train, to peer into the chemical composition and behaviors of clouds.
"Typically, it is very hard to get a sense of how important the effect of pollution on clouds is," Anne Douglass, deputy project scientist for NASA's Aura satellite, said in a statement. "With the A-Train, we can see the clouds every day and we're getting confirmation on a global scale that we have an issue here."
Until recently, scientists generally have paid less attention to clouds than to views of Earth, which the clouds can block.
Five satellites orbiting 8 minutes apart were able to make almost simultaneous observations. Each satellite played a different role, such as looking at carbon monoxide levels, rainfall patterns, or the size of particles of ice in clouds.
The presence of carbon monoxide in clouds indicates aerosols and smoke coming from land-bound pollution sources including power plants and forest fires.
Polluted South American clouds made less rain than cleaner clouds, according to work by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Ice was found to be smaller in clouds laced with aerosol, preventing rainfall during the parched season between June and October.
However, for reasons that remain unclear, rainy seasons in South America and South Asia appeared to be less influenced by aerosol levels in clouds.
The five satellites used are Aqua, Aura, CloudSat and CALIPSO from NASA, and France's PARASOL.
Findings were presented at the Joint Assembly of the American Geophysical Union in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
(Credit:
Volkswagen)
Volkswagen introduced the Space Up to the U.S. press at the 2007 LA Auto Show on Wednesday.
With its U.S. debut, Volkswagen has offered a little more information on the Space Up concept car, which was unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo auto show in October.
The hybrid concept vehicle, which would run on a combination of compressed hydrogen fuel and lithium-ion batteries, would have a top speed of about 75 mph.
(Credit:
Volkswagen)
Its batteries could be recharged from common electrical outlets. On electrical battery power alone, the Space Up could travel about 155 miles, and on a full tank of hydrogen would have a range of about 220 miles.
In keeping with the Space Up' s environmentally friendly theme, much of the interior is made from recycled materials that include wood, plastics, and organic plastics (aka biopolymers).
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