Solar for All

Renewable energy expansion is proving far more complicated than its technology suggests, with solar, wind and battery storage all caught up in political battles. Commentators are weighing how permitting rules, subsidies, grid policy and partisan divides shape how quickly clean power can scale. The discussion underscores that the main obstacles to the energy transition may be political rather than technical.

Google has announced Project Suncatcher, a research initiative to run machine learning infrastructure on solar-powered satellite constellations in orbit. The plan, outlined on Google's research blog, envisions data centre-scale compute in space to tap unlimited solar energy as terrestrial energy demands from AI grow. Early discussion centres on feasibility, launch costs, and whether orbiting hardware could realistically scale.