The 21st century’s new gold rush is not for a metal, but for energy, and the new frontier is low-Earth orbit. Google’s “Project Suncatcher” is the latest entry in a race to mine the “unlimited, low-cost renewable energy” of space-based solar power.
The key advantage, as Google’s research notes, is that solar panels in orbit are “up to eight times more productive.” This 8x multiplier is the “gold” that tech giants are chasing to power the “rising demand for AI.”
This energy source is not just more powerful; it’s more sustainable. It “minimises impact on terrestrial resources,” freeing the AI industry from its $3 trillion, carbon-intensive datacentre boom on Earth. A startup, Starcloud, claims a “10 times carbon dioxide savings” as a result.
This gold rush is already crowded. Elon Musk, with his SpaceX rockets, is perfectly positioned to mine this resource. An Nvidia-backed partnership, Starcloud, is launching its first “miners” (AI chips) this month. Google’s 2027 prototype is its first stake in the claim.
But this gold rush has a dark side. The “hundreds of tonnes of CO2” from each rocket launch (the “pickaxes” of this rush) and the objections from astronomers (the “native inhabitants” of the sky) show that this new frontier is not without its conflicts.
The New Gold Rush: Tech Giants Race to Mine Solar Power in Space
Date:
Picture Credit: www.commons.wikimedia.org
