Why Don't We Just Put Solar Panels In Space?



If we can capture energy from the sun, why don’t we just put solar panels in space?
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40 comments

  2. Another option is to have floating solar farms above the clouds carried by helium balloons and anchored to the ground with very long wires. The amount of concentration of radiation is also stronger at much higher altitudes, engineers have calculated that we could get 3 times as much energy above clouds than we can on ground.

    The space project is not entirely unfeasible though. We need to look to the moon. Solar panels are made out of silicon, so is the majority of the moons surface. At the same time the moon has very low gravity and it is actually completely feasible with current building materials and technology to implement a space elevator on the moon. That would enable us to launch solar panels into space virtually for free, since these panels could actually be carried to space by the electricity they themselves are generating. This will particularly become very feasible once robotics technology advances to the level where we could automate the entire process! Imagine robots on the moon, being controlled by AI and closely monitored from earth, building a solar factory and covering the moons surface with solar panels and then begins launching solar panels into space. One could even imagine robots building a robot factory on the moon, that builds more factory-building and solar-panel-building robots, thus increasing solar capacity with and exponential (or logistical growth rate). We could even cannibalized on other planets in the solar system as well. Harvesting the energy of our sun is the path to becoming a type 2 civilization.

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  6. Well it is no use of solar panel because of environment dust mostly
    That is why I thought a solar panel in space

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  7. I would think solar panels for space stations in the atmosphere would be possible. As well as pushing towards having a space station on the moon that could have solar panels to benefit electricity as well as push further to making checkpoint closer to Mars where these solar panels and checkpoints could give astronauts as a rest area as well as like a gas station in order to travel from Mars and back to earth

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  10. Wouldn’t the clouds and ozone get in the way of the microwaves just as much as the radiation from the sun. I think a halfway point of flying solar balloons above the clouds connected possibly through wire to the ground. Lightning could possibly be an issue there I guess.

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  11. This is why we need socialism, which creates value based on utility, removing the fetter of the profit necessity

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  16. The place to put the solar panels is on the moon. Three collection stations would ensure that at least two of them would be exposed to the sun at all times. The collected energy would be microwaved to various relays around the earth. Once the setup is in place, virtually unlimited energy for all, and free but for minimum maintenance. Would also provide jobs for millions all around the planet.

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  20. Solar PV panels (best one smart panel now the smartflower solar panel)
    Solar thermal steam power
    Space-based solar

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  21. How do the microwave receivers work? That essentially just a solar panel designed to accept light at a more energetic wavelength right? Why not develop those now and capture the cmbr as well as all of the microwaves that hitting us from the sun and distant stars? Why stop their? Why not develop receivers that receive and convert radio waves and x-rays?

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  22. If you put solar panels up in space don't you need a very long wire to go all the way down to connect to some houses or a house but the problem as well is that the solar panel might move upside down or up like in a circle and it might take long to charge cause it gravity and it would make the solar panel move around.

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  27. i have 4 x 100 watts solar panel with a 12 volt 1500 watt power inverter i like them it like free power i run them from 9am to 7 pm and the power went down from 13.1 to 12.5 volts not bad i had my rv hook up to it wirh everthing on in it

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  28. These topics are meant to shape the way you think about solar not inform you. This would also only work during the day in a geosynchronous orbit.. These ideas get put out there by think tanks linked to fossil fuel companies to make you think of solar energy in a negative way and hold off buying or leasing them yourself. It works because the human mind is so easily hacked. " Just hold off on the solar panels that would ruin our business model. There will be this pie in the sky thing shooting microwaves at you pretty soon…. ahahaha we're actually laughing at you and we're filthy rich."

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  30. Very good for people getting into the solar electricity world. Whether you have a deep understanding of electricity or you have basic knowledge, coulc.it/solar this will guide you towards the right system for you. Everything you need to know to get started and build an effective system is right there.

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  39. 2:00 two designs with mirrors that convert electricity to microwave then beam it down to earth where it gets converted back to electricity and stored.

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