StratoSolar
+1 408 821 7036
  • Home
  • Technology
    • Key Enabling Insights
    • PV Generation Platforms
    • Gravity Energy Storage
    • Communications Platform
    • Proven Technologies
    • Example Complete Energy Solution for the UK
    • Common Concerns >
      • Airspace
      • Hurricanes
      • FAQ
    • Gallery of Images >
      • Platform Shadow Videos
      • Japan Energy Solution Map
      • 2050 World Energy Sankey Diagram
      • 2050 Synthetic Fuel solution
      • 2050 Electricity solution
      • Climate Change Videos
  • Benefits
    • Low Cost Generation
    • Low Cost Energy Storage
    • Cost Reduction Roadmap
    • Sustainable and Scale-able
    • Zero Carbon
    • Energy Security
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Login
    • Presentations
    • Gallery >
      • PV Documents >
        • PV Big Picture policy level document
        • PV California deployment
        • PV Japan deployment
        • PV UK deployment
        • Wind and Buoyancy Forces
  • Related Sites
  • Solve for x Videos

Explaining StratoSolar

1/19/2015

Comments

 
By Edmund Kelly
A complete renewable energy solution requires the attributes of dispatch-ability and reliability of fossil fuel power plants at a lower cost of generation. PV panels have come down rapidly in price in recent years creating a wave of optimism for PV. A realistic analysis projects further price drops over time, but not at the recent precipitous rate of decline. Current PV price levels still need subsidy in all markets to generate electricity competitive with that from fossil fuels. Also PV is an unreliable and intermittent source of electricity that requires backup fossil fuel generation (or excess capacity and distribution) to handle unpredictable long duration weather outages and daily energy storage for nighttime generation. Currently there is no viable large scale energy storage solution other than pumped hydro. To provide renewable energy for less than fossil fuels, the combined cost of PV generation, backup generation and energy storage generation have to be less than the cost of generation from fossil fuels.

StratoSolar is a system solution that directly attacks all the problems of PV generation and transforms PV into a real, disruptive and transformative lower cost renewable energy solution.
  • 3X more power for same PV panels due to more sunlight and colder environment.
  • Same or lower capital cost as ground PV, declining in cost at the same learning rate
  • No need for backup generation or excess capacity and transmission to handle unpredictable weather based long duration outages
Gravity energy storage is integrated with the platform for nighttime generation
  • Low cost. $1.00/Watt (or $100/kWh)
  • Long lived, 10,000 daily cycles
  • No geographical constraint
  • No material resource constraint
  • Uses the same HVDC conversion and transmission equipment as PV generation.
  • Motor/generator runs directly on the voltage from the PV array

StratoSolar is a combination of tried and true PV technology with a new unproven high altitude buoyant tethered platform technology. The risk is concentrated on the new technology of the buoyant tethered platform. Viability depends on whether buoyant tethered platforms can be built, deployed and not damaged or destroyed by environmental hazards over the 30 plus year lifetime of the power plant. Other risks are whether the predicted capital costs are achievable and possible regulatory impediments from the FAA and local authorities.

The new buoyant tethered platforms are really novel structural engineering towers. Large scale structural engineering is a well established engineering discipline. Building the first of a new class of large scale structural engineering projects could be compared with other once novel large structural engineering projects, like steel framed skyscrapers, concrete dams, oil production platforms or steel suspension bridges. This class of project always initially stretch human credibility but actually rarely fail because the structural engineering discipline is very robust. The same reasoning applies to StratoSolar platforms. 

Comments
comments powered by Disqus

    Ed Kelly

    President of StratoSolar

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Archives

    February 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    November 2010

    Categories

    All
    All Energy
    Alternative Energy
    Bill Gates
    China
    Clean Energy Investment
    Clean Energy Price
    Desalination
    Developing World
    Energy
    Energy-investment
    Energy Policy
    Germany
    Helium
    Japan Energy Pv
    Land Use
    O3b
    Pv
    PV Bubble
    Pv Subsidies
    Stratosolar
    Us Subsidies
    Wireless Communications

    RSS Feed

 © 2023 StratoSolar Inc. All rights reserved. ​618 S. 8th Street, Suite 400B, Richmond, CA 94804
Contact Us