Viable solar energy is just like nuclear fusion - it has been just around the corner for the last fifty years. From the University of Illinois at Chicago:
Breakthrough solar cell captures CO2 and sunlight, produces burnable fuel
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that cheaply and efficiently converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into usable hydrocarbon fuel, using only sunlight for energy.
The finding is reported in the July 29 issue of Science and was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. A provisional patent application has been filed.
Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored in heavy batteries, the new device essentially does the work of plants, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel, solving two crucial problems at once. A solar farm of such “artificial leaves” could remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and produce energy-dense fuel efficiently.
“The new solar cell is not photovoltaic — it’s photosynthetic,” says Amin Salehi-Khojin, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at UIC and senior author on the study.
Like I said, I thought we already had this covered - I have a couple cords of firewood stacked up for this winter and looking to buy another two or three.
Sarcasm aside, this could be interesting if they can get decent efficiency. If their reaction operates at high temperature (couple hundred degrees), they could use concentrating mirrors and do some real work.
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