What could be more refreshing than casting off your carbon shackles with a bunch of solar balloons? Our favorite environmental architect visionary, Joseph Cory, of Geotectura has seized this dream with an award winning way to take solar energy to the skies. He’s teamed up with Technion aerospace engineer Dr. Pini Gurfil to develop an an array of helium filled platforms constructed from a new fabric coated with photovoltaic solar cells. Dubbed Sunhope, the project is showing great promise as a low-cost deployable system that would harness solar energy while maintaining a minuscule environmental footprint.
Some of solar energy’s biggest milestones are its daunting barriers to entry: traditional systems require high initial investments, large land requirements, and an in-depth installation process. The Sunhope project seeks to circumvent all of these factors by constructing low-cost photovoltaic arrays designed for vertical clearance rather than horizontal sprawl.
These solar balloons are as low-impact as power plants get, since their infrastructure is composed entirely of a control panel, a helium supply cable, and a power cable. Residential possibilities abound, as Cory and Gurfil estimate that one or two balloons would fulfill the electrical needs for one home, and they have suggested that multiple balloons can be linked together to power apartments and communities.
The design is also ideal for a multitude of off-the-grid applications, with the potential to bring power to deserts, isolated islands, ocean-bound freighters, and heavily forested landscapes. Additionally, the balloons’ eminently deployable nature makes them perfect for disaster and emergency situations, since the balloons are quick to set up and can be delivered via air.
Cory and Gurfil have constructed several prototypes and have conducted research to show that a 10 ft balloon could provide around a kilowatt of energy (equivalent to 25 square meters of solar panels). Their target cost is $4,000 per balloon, compared to the $10,000 it would cost for a solar field producing the same amount of energy. The balloons will last about a year without needing maintenance, and Cory and Gurfil are working hard to make the balloons as wind resistant as possible by experimenting with size and structure.
We’ve covered solar balloons in the past, but we were thoroughly impressed by SunHope’s low cost, high mobilization potential, and site-specific versatility. + Geotectura + Technion
JOSEPH CORY ON INHABITAT + WatAIR: Turning Water Into Air + Floating Electromagnetic Skyscrapers + i-Rise Sustainable Housing
25 Responses to “SOLAR BALLOONS: SunHope Renewable Energy”
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I wonder if this can tough Canadian weather…snow…ice storm…?
Hmmm…let’s see. Helium is generally extracted by the Oil and Gas industry as a by-product. So it’s not exactly environmentally friendly. And it’s VERY expensive, and getting more so – there’s a global shortage I believe. Why not use Hydrogen? You would simply provide a source of water, use some of the solar energy generated by this system to crack the water and create hydrogen, and pump the hydrogen into the balloon.
Some other potential problems:
* Deploy these in areas where aircraft are not operating. (Are there any of those?)
* How to handle high winds and different wind speeds at different altitudes.
Why not just use a temp sensor on the inside and convert some solar energy to heat to keep the balloon up.
To Brian Lang:
Hydrogen is not a stable gas. It can trigger an explosion. Helium on the other hand is less reactive. If it really is a by-product of the oil and gas industry, we might as well make full use of it since that industry is not gonna stop anytime soon.
Not a bad idea.
Have they looked into energy generation from the expansion and cotraction of the balloon during the day?
I live in an area that gets a massive wet season for 3-4 months of the year. Electrical storms, cyclones etc. I might need some sort of retraction system for these things….
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[...] For a long time, solar has been finding itself on non-traditional surfaces in fresh, yet practical, ways. The presence of solar shingles and solar billboards attests to this. Now take, for example, a solar balloon project called Sunhope. [...]
Why not shape the solor ballons to spin….combining the best of solar and wind efficiency to produce energy.
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[...] could be more refreshing than casting off your carbon shackles with a bunch of solar balloons? Our favorite environmental architect visionary, Joseph Cory, of Geotectura has seized this dream [...]
[...] it there. Now if these were readily available on the other hand. Then we’d be in business. Click over to Inhabitat for a better run down on why these are awesome and why we’ll probably never [...]
Spirituality = Love, Learning, Evlolvement…..= unending development
Are these developers aware that the Earth only has a nine (9) year supply of Helium at the current rate of consumption and that once it is gone it cannot be replaced? This is really impractical and a waste of a precious resource.
heres is a idea if the are up so high why not make they store lighthing and also turn in the wind that way we could use e.r.g rain, shine, and snow
why not shape them to turn and shore lighting that way they can gather e.r.g three diffent ways wind solor and lighting strikes
or have them bout up and down like tidel genators
inhabitation is a wonderfull web site
Will the hot air not work for rising the ballon every morning,at places on the tropical countries.
The set up is forgetting one thing… a grounding wire
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go green
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Is it possible to contact administration?
Hope for answer
Very nice site!