November 23, 2007

A Worthwhile Alternative Is Lunar Solar Power Generation

People are using up our natural resources at an alarming pace. The oil and gas usage causes our environment to be polluted. The solar power does not. More thought is being put into finding an alternative energy source. We know that using the sun can provide us with renewable solar power. But what about lunar solar power generation? This is an option that is also being explored.

There no doubts that solar power generation is a primary source of power in the commercial world and it is largely instrumental in providing everyone with a means to attain the highest standards of living. Keeping this in mind, there have been different options suggested with regard to solar power generation, and a novel one is that of lunar solar power generation.

Satellites Or The Moon

According to Peter Glaser, who works with Arthur D. Little Inc., it was proposed as an alternative that a giant satellite be placed in geosynchronous orbit above the Earth which would then gather solar power out of space itself in a dependable manner. However, another proposal with regard to lunar solar power generation was to collect solar power straight from the moon, through the functioning of twelve centimeters’ wavelength microwaves that would be used to provide solar power to the entire world. The benefits of using microwaves are that they can pass through clouds, rain, dust and even smoke.

Thus, whether lunar solar power generation involves the geosynchronous placement of a satellite, or if you get solar power straight from the moon, the power will need to be supplied to rectennas at night, which could be located in strategic places all around the world and thus provide as much as two kilowatts of electric power per person, and which would be sufficient for the expected population of the world in 2050, which should reach as high a figure as ten billion people.

There is a lot of savings too in terms of space required and with lunar solar power generation systems, the space required is a mere five percent of what is needed to generate an equivalent amount of electricity when using terrestrial solar-array technologies of the same capacity. Furthermore, the cost of rectennas would be a mere 0.004 dollars per kWoh and that is also a mere one tenth of what current commercial electricity costs.

Other advantages of choosing lunar solar power generation include not needing to use in any significant manner the resources of our Earth, and the solar power satellites will do the job admirably well, and according to projections, they should be able to deliver about ten thousand kWoh of electric energy to our Earth in the next thirty years. And, it would only cost sixty dollars to sell electricity at 0.01 dollars per kWoh and this cost includes buying components to be used in power satellites and also shipping them into space after assembly and it even covers cost of maintenance etc.

The world is using its natural resources at an alarming pace. Finding a worthwhile alternative energy source has become a hot topic. The use of lunar solar power generation is one of the alternative energy sources being discussed. By using lunar solar power generation we don’t use the earth’s resources. The cost of electricity today is very expensive and is going to go up in the future. The cost of lunar solar power generation costs approximately 1/10 of the cost of electricity. Using lunar solar power generation is an inexpensive source for our future power needs.

Filed under Solar Energy by

Permalink Print
Register Login