Solar power sats without colonies...

Both you and Ian make good points. He is correct that solar is not very optimal in parts of the UK. Islands can get a fair amount of wind as you point out.

My preferred renewable choice would be high altitude wind turbines that are tethered to the ground.

Ground based wind power suffers from unpredictability. Until we develop an efficient, practical and large electrical storage method, wind power cannot be a large part of a given power grind due to risk of destabilizing the grid.

At high altitudes (5 to 10 km) the winds are more regular. Electrical generation from there should be more reliable and much higher kW than ground.

Though not built yet, my favorate design is one that looks like a helicopter with several turbines with vanes. Deployment requires feeding electricity to the unit, using turbines as motors to generate lift. Once in position the wind keeps it aloft, like a kite. For routine maintanence bring it back down to the ground, using turbines as motors for controlled touchdowns.

wlm_efn wrote:
Ian Woollard wrote:
> Yes, but for example, I live in the UK; which is a *long* way north
> (rather *further* than Ottawa in Canada). During summertime solar
> might work.
>
> But during the winter; it rains. And rains. And rains and rains. And
> it's dark; with 100% cloudcover for much of the time. Ground-level
> solar doesn't really work at all. You simply can't store the heat for
> months at a time.
>
> Whereas SPS would work 24x365.25.

Yes but the UK has a whole bunch of something else that provides
energy: wind. On Earth the further north in latitude you are, the
greater are the average winds are with which to tap energy. They
pretty much compliment each other.

(Ground-based) solar energy by itself won't do, but a *combination* of
solar and wind energy can, IMO.