California's new power source a solar farm (orbiting set of solar panels beam energy to FResno Co.)

SFGate.com ^ | 4/14/09 | David R. Baker

[exist]

As someone who’s been to Fresno I expect those solar panels will be stolen soon.

[Spktyr]

Solar power sats were proposed by Heinlein back in the 40s or 50s. They were completely possible in the 1960s.

Envirowackos will probably block this one, too.

[RSmithOpt]

Yup, Arnie’s gonna have to open up child garment sweat factories using child labor to pay for it too.

[Holicheese]

I think it would be fantastic if they ended up in the wrong orbit and sent blinding light into algore’s bedroom windows!

[SpaceBar]

Is everyone in California on mind altering drugs?

[Freeport]

YESSSS!!! About time!

I’ve been waiting since we launched Skylab for this: If we can put something as big as Skylab in orbit, we can sure put a powersat in GSO!

[TheBattman]

Question... how do you “beam” electricity from a satellite to earth? Radio signals, I understand...

[myaccount2009]

that’s really interesting—
is it cost-efficient enough, though?

[dblshot]

I have always wondered how you get the electricity to the ground without it finding it’s own way to earth like a lightening bolt. Even if you could get the flow of electrons to follow a straight path for hundreds of miles without insulation wouldn’t a plane crossing the path be caught in a virtual welding arc?

[JamesP81]

This is actually a good idea, but I fully expect the libs to start claiming that it harms birds or some crap.

[JamesP81]

Question... how do you “beam” electricity from a satellite to earth? Radio signals, I understand...

I think the basic concept is coherent microwaves, but someone more knowledgeable will likely correct me shortly.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

"is it cost-efficient enough, though?"

Read between the lines in the article:

"PG&E has not disclosed how much money it has agreed to spend on Solaren's electricity, money that would come from the utility's customers.

"I can say it will be comparable to other renewable energy that's been approved recently by the California Public Utilities Commission," Marshall said."

IOW, somewhere between 2 and 4 times as expensive as current sources of current.

[Tolsti2]

You do it via high energy photons, then convert those to electricity on the ground.

I wonder what the power estimates are for this. If it’s good, I’d support it fully.

[Spktyr]

Heinlein envisioned the solar power sats firing microwave beams back to the receiver stations. You would have to route aircraft around them, of course.

You can, of course, convert microwave radiation back into electricity.

[Spktyr]

The only thing that really screws with the cost efficiency picture is the cost per pound of lofting stuff into orbit. Solar power sats are going to be *big* things to have to send up.

[dblshot]

Heinlein envisioned the solar power sats firing microwave beams back to the receiver stations
Which means we have massive amounts of microwave energy hitting molecules of H20 in the atmosphere. When I put a cup of water in microwave I get hot water. That ought to make Al Gore's Global Warming come true.

[umgud]

Don’t know if it washes economically, but one plus would be that it could send power 24hrs/day, which land based solar cannot.

[dblshot]

Ah, high energy photons
Like photon torpedoes only benign. Of course we have never transmitted electricity this way in any real world application but what the heck, that's why we built the super collider I guess.

[BlueNgold]

Count me in as a skeptic...