AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Affordable & Clean Energy
KEYWORDS
Solar energy, solar power, Photovoltaic
COUNTRY
France
DESIGNED BY
Jean-François Guillemoles
WEBSITE
https://news.cnrs.fr/opinions/solar-energy-aims-for-the-sky-0
Solar balloons
Capturing solar energy with balloons floating above the clouds for uninterrupted energy production.
Jean-François Guillemoles, a solar researcher from France, he's proposing floating solar balloons that potentially could generate three times as much power-per-foot as their terrestrial brethren. His design would also be able to store energy as well as generate power. The balloon would capture solar energy and sends it to a fuel cell, which would convert the current into hydrogen and keep the balloon afloat. At night, the cell would recover the hydrogen and convert it back into a charge, feeding it down to the ground. Guillemoles argues that balloon are lighter than solar panels, so need less energy to make and transport. Plus, they can go anywhere and wouldn't take up land that could be used for other purposes (like growing crops).