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Researchers opine that harvesting 40 minutes of sunlight falling on the entire planet can power the world for about a year.
However, till date only 1% of that energy is harvested and converted into renewable electricity. Industrial designers have taken up the task to develop systems that can harvest solar energy in a better way, thereby leading to renewable power plants that are more efficient. The Solar Molecules is one such system that can provide more power at a low-cost. Since the sun is a body in constant motion, harvesting solar energy isn’t practical for most part of the day. However, the Solar Molecules system is a spherical mega-body that moves across the sky each day, east to west, in a repetitive cycle.
The system carries numerous solar molecules, which are geodesic structures that carry hot air to remain aloft. The surface of the molecules is covered with PV cells that harvest solar energy and store it in onboard system. The generated electricity is beamed to the surface of earth in the form of microwaves, which is then reconverted back into usable electricity by the base station. Since the molecules remain in constant motion, they only create periodic shadows on the surface of the earth, allowing the city residents to enjoy the comfort of bright sunny days.
Via: MegaBlog
