In the near future, your home could be powered by solar-cell helium balloons.
In the near future, your home could run on balloon power.
It’s an elegantly simple idea. Solar power is one of numerous methods to produce clean, sustainable energy (in a market now worth $150 billion a year), and improvements are being made all the time. Even so, it’s still dogged by a problem as old as the technology - flat panels remain cumbersome and take up a lot of room.
The answer, say designers including Joseph Cory of Geotectura (as reported by Ari Rabinovitch for Reuters), is to wrap the photovoltaic cells around a helium balloon and make use of the third dimension. These power-generating balloons can be tethered in arrays that make best use of the available sunlight, converting it into approximately a kilowatt of electricity per balloon. Sunshine permitting, two of these could easily power your home, would initially cost you around $4,000 each, and last a full year without needing maintenance.
It’s a system designed to take advantage of vertical space where horizontal is at a premium, but there are other benefits. It’s quick to deploy: perfect for emergency situations where you unexpectedly need a steady supply of power, like the aftermath of a natural disaster. It also has the potential to rise above ground-level obstructions. Need power in the middle of a forest? Reel the balloon out to just above the treetops, and away you go.
Unlike the traditional flat solar panels, the shape of solar-cell balloons means that they will always be able to capture the sun’s energy, no matter which way they’re pointing. And Cory promises further innovations in their design: “The vision is that we can make as many balloons as we want in a special way, like the leaves of a flower that do not shade each other”.
The designers warn that this technology should only be used as a secondary option where there is unused sky-facing space, such as the roofs of city buildings – but the most exciting aspect is its eco-friendly portability: It’s a method of electricity generation that requires minimal installation and has no carbon footprint.
Truly, the sky’s the limit.
By Mike Sowden
Originally published May 15th, 2008