StartupRealities

StartupRealities No 160 MoonlightHarvester is a renewable energy company that generates (expensive) electricity from moonlight and utilises it for special occasions, for example to provide moonlight-powered illumination at wedding ceremonies. Generating electricity from moonlight is not commercially viable unless the power is used for symbolic purposes for which customers are willing to pay an enormous premium. Even at full moon, the moon is 100,000 times less luminous than the sun at noon. The company takes great care to store separately in special batteries the power generated at night from moonlight so that it is never mixed with cheap solar energy. MoonlightHarvester is working on developing future technology that may be able to capture starlight in addition to moonlight. This will allow the company to launch a franchise operation called StarlightHarvester. Starlight is much dimmer even than moonlight so harvesting it in any material way with existing solar panels is currently ...

StartupRealities No 103 WaveGenergy installs wave power generating facilities off sea coasts threatened by wave erosion, which slows down or stops erosion altogether while also generating electricity. These facilities consist of interconnected polymer sheets on the surface of the ocean and are installed along the coast to dampen the power of the waves that reach the shore. The company's primary focus are erosion-threatened populated shorelines and built-up coastal strips with high real estate valuations. In almost all countries the shallow waters off the coast are owned by the state, so contracts for installing these wave power generating facilities are awarded by governments under a formula that takes into account both the land saved from erosion and the electricity generating potential. CEO QUOTE "The ocean is a blessing in so many ways, but its destructive power should not be underestimated. We turn the negative of wave erosion into a positive: coast protection and ele...