![]() So you can basically bolt this onto the existing power system? An aerial view shows solar panels made by First Solar, during a tour of the Overland Park Solar Array in Toledo, Ohio, U.S., October 5, 2021. It could be any kind of power plant, and you just connect to it and add and augment the power that you generate with these. You can even envision putting this next to photovoltaic solar that are out there, or any other kind of power plant. And then at that point, you can plug it in to connect to your network-essentially to your distribution line, the same power distribution line that you use. They collect the energy, they convert it to DC power, and then that’s converted to AC. But these are like thin sheets of material, like printed circuit boards that go in your computers and things of that sort, that sit on the ground. I mean, if this were not radio, I would’ve had demonstrations of these things to show you how they look. These are another array of antennas that are very plain, very flat. On the ground, we have what we call “ rectennas,” which is basically rectifying antennas. And you can move that very rapidly-on the scales of nanoseconds, extremely fast-from one place to another.ĭoes it require new technology to distribute that power? Or is that basically using current technology? So you can actually create a focal point of energy where you need, where your recovery of energy occurs. It does not even need mechanical steering. Because it’s a very large array, it redirects the energy. ![]() And because of the inclination of the Earth, because it’s at an angle, you would get eclipsed for 20 minutes on each one of those.Īnd as it’s transferring power down, it doesn’t have to be directly over the collection station, right? It can be at an angle? Most of the time you’re not eclipsed, because you’re so far away that the shadow of Earth is so small. If you put them in geosynchronous orbit (or something near geosynchronous) you are basically in the sun for most of the time, except for 20 minutes on the equinoxes. Wouldn’t these panels sometimes be in the darkness, on the night side of the Earth? So how would they work? You can say, “I want to send 20 percent to New York, 30 percent to LA, and 40 percent to, I don’t know, Seattle.” You can actually distribute the power you can break it up into smaller pieces. And the other benefit of it is that essentially you can have these systems in space for a long time, and you can route it the way you want. Hajimiri: So the primary problem that it solves is being able to get around the days and nights, the cycles of the weather, the cloudy days, and all those things-and having dispatchable power where you need it, when you need it, and as much as you need.Ĭorrect. Why is it a good idea? What problem is it solving? Pethokoukis: Space-based solar-putting solar panels in space and beaming the energy to Earth-seems like a beautiful, elegant solution. You can download the episode here, and don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Outside work Ali is a “foodie,” and he enjoys trying new food and beverages, watching sport, and hanging out with his partner.What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation, including brief portions that were cut from the original podcast. Locally, he’s worked on the model builds and calibrations for Central Hawke’s Bay and Nelson councils. For UK's drainage and wastewater management plans, he was lead modeller for solution development on the Beckton Catchment, one of the largest wastewater catchments in Europe. With expertise using robust modelling software, Ali and his team can build models, set up simulations, run thousands of complex hydrological and hydraulic calculations, interpret the results, assess network issues, and identify and solve network problems.Īli has worked around the world modelling wastewater systems. He understands clients' issues, scopes the project, and knows which talents to assign to specific roles. Ali leads the drainage modelling team in Wellington, New Zealand, managing standalone and multi-disciplinary projects from a technical perspective. While they're invisible to most people, to Ali they're his specialty, and one he takes pride in. Sewer and drainage systems are critical infrastructure, helping protect health and communities.
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