The *official* complain about XemaSab thread

[FBaggins]

27. We're talking 2035 here...

Orbital solar is a bit pie-in-the-sky (pun intended) for that timeframe.

And, of course, we'll later discover that the power transmission technology is itself dangerous. Have you not read Heinlein's Waldo?


Lastly, I'm afraid that your statement on storage solutions is overly optomistic. The amount of storage necessary for solar to be the primary generation source (i.e., something that even wind is a "bridge" to), is orders of magnitude beyond what you've linked to.

Take a look at the world's largest chemical battery. It's reportedly enough to supply one hour of power to 12,000 homes (presumably american homes even though it's in China). Even if the batteries in the story you link are ten times as efficient (or a hundred times), imagine how much is necessary to get... say... New Hamshire through a cloudy winter week.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-01/china-builds-worlds-largest-battery-36-megawatt-hour-behemoth