This start-up is gearing up to 'sell sunlight' after dark in California, customers express shock

In a very rare move, a startup in California wishes to increase the power production of the world by selling sunlight after it has gone dark, with the help of solar panels.

The company Reflect Orbital is aimed at reflecting the rays of the Sun over solar panels on the surface of the Earth after it has gone dark.

In video footage, the company has tried to show how the technology can illuminate the night sky using reflected light.

The ambitious plan of the company was presented by CEO Ben Nowack during the International Conference on Energy from Space inLondonthis April.

Nowack took about shooting 57 small satellites with 33-square-foot ultra-reflective mylar mirrors which will eventually bounce back the sunlight down to solar farms.

When the demand is at its peak, the satellites, which orbit 370 miles above the surface, can provide an additional 30 minutes of sunshine to the stationed solar power plants, reported The Deep Dive.

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"The problem is that solar energy is not available when we actually want it," said Nowack, while speaking at a press conference and explaining why solar farms won't be able to produce energy when it is dark.

His company is aiming to sell this precious energy to solar plants once it is dark, which will then send it to the homes of the people.

Nowack and cofounder and CTOTristan Semmelhack also said that using satellites will not be cost-prohibitive, but rather will be profitable.

Company tests if it is possible to sell sunlight

Reflect Orbital's team of seven men tried to test the workability of their idea by placing an eight-by-eight-foot mylar mirror over a hot air balloon, which was supposed to reflect sunlight over the solar panels that were towed in on a truck.

A mylar mirror is a kind of glassless mirror which is made using polyester film that gets stretched across a raised aluminium frame.

The team spent weeks in the field while carrying out the process and eventually got a breakthrough. In a YouTube video, they shared the success of their test.

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The team was able to generate around 500 watts of energy per square metreof panel when the mirror reflected light on the solar panels from a distance of 242 metres (nearly 800 feet). One person was heard shouting in the video 'Let there be light!'

"This is amazing, but terrifying if you think of it! With just 2 mirrors your buddy on the ground was able to feel the heat!" wrote a person in response to the company's YouTube video.

"OMG this looks like so much fun to build and test," another said.

(With inputs from agencies)