In this episode of HELLO FUTURE, host Kevin Cirilli sits down with Alex Gilbert, Principal & Field Director at Rocinante Fieldworks and Fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy, to explore why building solar power plants in space could be key to modernizing Earth’s energy grid.

Gilbert discusses the technical and strategic case for space-based solar power — collecting continuous energy in orbit and beaming it back to Earth — and how this frontier infrastructure could help address terrestrial energy challenges. 

Drawing on his background in nuclear innovation, energy security, and extreme-environment systems, he explains what it would take to make orbital power plants a reality and why this approach may become a critical part of the long-term solution for clean, reliable energy.