Adair Solar

That's some flower!

Just when we think the solar industry can’t get anymore cutting edge, NASA chimes in with ideas of sun power right from the source to prove us wrong. We just blogged a couple short months ago about nanotechnology and microscopic solar panels, and now, here’s the latest scoop about flower-like solar arrays beaming energy from outerspace–not unlike a moment out of Stargate.

PCWorld tells us, “The idea is to use a satellite with an array of mirrors to collect energy from the Sun and send it back to Earth via a Microwave beam. It might sound like another crazy death ray beam to us, but NASA thinks that it’s realistic enough that they’ve funded the Artemis Innovation Management Solutions group to develop its Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large PHased Array (SPS-ALPHA).”

“The array will feature a modular, tulip shaped satellite equipped with thin-film mirrors to reflect sunlight into photovoltaic cells. The collected solar energy will be converted into microwaves that will then be transmitted back to a receiving station on Earth at a low frequency and intensity.

Power plants on Earth will be able to convert the Microwave energy into electricity and add it to the power grid. NASA says that each array system could create anywhere from tens to thousands of megawatts of energy.”

Did you think you’d ever hear of coming so close literally energizing right from the sun? If something like this can be done on a large scale over time, imagine the global impact–parts of the world that have never had a regular source of electricity would suddenly be able to plug in, and places where the cost of electricity is wildly prohibitive would become overnight metropolises.

We hope that while it’s still being researched and studied that the NASA solar energy program will help to raise awareness of good old regular planet earth style solar energy and create a newfound spark that will entice home owners to look into solar panels for their houses and businesses too. As a local Mesa AZ solar panel installer, we here at Adair Solar Company are always thrilled to hear about any new advances that could spring board solar to a new level in the United States.

[[Call today for your free in-home consultation for a solar installation from Adair Solar Company in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, and beyond by calling (480) 827-1162.]]