Cloud Intervention Without Chemicals in Solar Farms
Founded with support from Y Combinator, the Meteoric venture is developing autonomous drone fleets to disperse clouds over solar power plants. The project, launched by Cambridge University graduates and engineers Mete Karslıoğlu and Eric Nilsson, aims to mechanically reduce the reflectivity of low- and mid-altitude clouds covering solar farms. The chemical-free method is intended to increase the sunlight reaching the panels and keep electricity generation at an optimum level.
10 to 100 Drones Will Operate to Reduce Light Loss
Low- and mid-level cloud cover prevents 73% to 82% of sunlight from reaching the areas beneath it. Meteoric’s system uses autonomous drone fleets consisting of 10 to 100 vehicles that enter cloud layers located at altitudes of 1 to 5 kilometers. By mechanically altering the structure of the water droplets that form the clouds, the drones reduce the clouds’ capacity to reflect light back.
In this way, a measurable amount of sunlight reaching the panels is directly recovered without requiring any infrastructure investment.
High Efficiency at a Cost of $30 per Hour
The technology managed to reduce the density of the artificial cloud by 13% in cloud chamber tests conducted in a laboratory setting. Currently used methods such as spraying liquid carbon dioxide or mixing the air with helicopters lead to costs exceeding $2,000 per hour to disperse clouds. By contrast, the hourly cost of Meteoric’s electric drone operations remains between $30 and $60. According to the cloud loss model developed by the company, the method could generate between $5,000 and $28,000 in additional annual value per megawatt at existing power plants and increase annual output by 10% to 30%. In addition to projects such as the recent use of AI-powered autonomous drones to respond to forest fires, atmospheric interventions are also expanding the range of applications for drone technologies.
Distant Goals and a Scientific Approach
There are various projects in the field of solar energy aimed at offsetting losses caused by the day-night cycle and weather conditions, such as Reflect Orbital’s space mirrors and Meta’s orbital satellites. Meteoric aims to conduct its first large-scale field flight in 2027; in the long term, the company seeks to reduce the intensity of hurricanes and severe storms. However, the World Meteorological Organization states that there is no scientific basis for the claim that storms can be modified, given the enormous amounts of energy contained in major weather systems, and emphasizes that such large-scale interventions should be approached with skepticism.