Meta AI Space Power and the Race to Beam Solar Energy From Orbit

Key Takeaways

• Meta reserved up to 1 GW of space solar capacity for future data center power.
• Overview Energy plans a 2028 orbital demonstration and 2030 commercial delivery.
• The deal treats orbital power as part of a larger AI energy procurement strategy.

Meta AI Space Power Moves From Concept to Contract

On April 27, 2026, Inc. covered a new Meta energy move that links artificial intelligence (AI), space infrastructure, and electric power procurement. The Meta AI space power story centers on an agreement with Overview Energy to reserve up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of space solar capacity, with the startup’s system designed to collect solar energy in orbit and transmit it to existing solar projects on Earth as low-intensity near-infrared light.

The deal matters because it shifts space-based solar power from a distant policy concept into the procurement language of a hyperscale technology company. Meta’s own announcement describes the arrangement as part of a broader push to supply the reliable energy required by AI infrastructure and data centers. The company also announced a separate agreement with Noon Energy for up to 1 GW/100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of ultra-long-duration storage, with a 25 megawatt (MW)/2.5 GWh pilot project expected in 2028.

Overview Energy’s design differs from the older microwave-based space solar concepts that shaped much of the academic and policy debate. Its system would gather sunlight in orbit, convert it into invisible near-infrared light, and direct that light to existing solar farms. Those solar facilities would then convert the received light into electricity using photovoltaic equipment tied to the grid. The business premise is straightforward: existing solar assets sit idle after sunset, and Overview wants to extend their productive hours without requiring new land or long interconnection queues.

Meta’s energy portfolio gives the agreement more weight than a normal startup partnership announcement. The company says its global clean and renewable energy contracts total more than 30 GW, and its sustainability materials state that it has matched 100% of annual electricity use with clean and renewable energy since 2020 through procurement and matching programs. The Overview deal sits beside geothermal, nuclear, storage, solar, and wind procurement rather than replacing them.

The timing reflects pressure from AI electricity demand. The International Energy Agency projects that global data center electricity consumption will more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030 in its base case. The U.S. Energy Information Administration also forecast in January 2026 that data centers would help drive the strongest four-year growth in U.S. electricity demand since 2000.

Here is the simplest way to read the Meta arrangement against related energy commitments.

The agreement does not prove that orbital solar will become cheap, scalable, or easy to regulate. It does show that AI infrastructure has begun to pull very early energy technologies into commercial planning. For startups in the space economy, that demand signal may prove as important as the engineering itself.

How Overview Energy’s Orbit-To-Grid System Would Work

Overview Energy’s public materials describe a “space-to-grid” system built around satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Solar panels on the spacecraft collect sunlight in space, where sunlight is far less affected by weather and nighttime cycles than it is at ground level. The spacecraft then convert that collected energy into a wide, low-intensity near-infrared beam directed toward participating solar projects on Earth.

Near-infrared light sits just beyond the red end of visible light. Overview’s concept uses that light because existing solar panels can convert it into electricity, which lets the system target solar farms already connected to the grid. That design choice matters for project economics. A company trying to build separate receiving stations would need land, permits, interconnection approvals, and local acceptance. A company using solar facilities already connected to the grid can try to sell additional energy through assets that utilities already recognize.

The system still faces demanding engineering problems. Satellites must collect energy, maintain beam pointing accuracy, manage heat, operate for long durations, and keep transmission below safety thresholds. Spacecraft also need mass-efficient solar arrays, optical systems, power electronics, autonomy, radiation tolerance, and reliable station-keeping. None of those requirements is trivial at GW scale.

Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project has explored related technical areas, including ultralight structures, photovoltaic conversion, and wireless power transfer. Caltech’s project demonstrated a prototype that collected sunlight, converted it to radio-frequency electrical power, and transmitted that power in a steerable beam. That work does not validate Overview’s specific business model, but it shows why researchers see lightweight structure and wireless transmission as central barriers.

NASA’s space-based solar power study reached a cautious conclusion in 2024. The agency’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy found that space-based solar power could offer future benefits but would require progress in in-space assembly, autonomous operations, power beaming, manufacturing costs, and launch costs. The same NASA review found that representative systems considered for 2050 would be more expensive than terrestrial sustainable alternatives under its assumptions.

Overview’s strategy tries to narrow that challenge by avoiding the need for totally new ground receivers. Its system depends on using existing solar projects as receivers, which could reduce ground-side friction. Yet the space segment remains capital-intensive. A GW-scale constellation would require repeated launches, satellite manufacturing, orbital operations, insurance, replacement planning, spectrum or optical safety approvals, and grid contracts that align with utility rules.

The orbit choice raises both advantages and constraints. Geosynchronous orbit gives the spacecraft persistent visibility over large parts of Earth, but it also places the hardware much farther away than low Earth orbit. That distance affects beam spreading, pointing control, transmission losses, launch energy, and servicing difficulty. The reward is long-duration access to sunlight and a stable relationship with receiving regions.

A compressed description of the chain helps explain the technical sequence.

The Meta AI space power idea depends on every stage working together. A high-performing satellite matters less if grid rules do not recognize the delivered energy. A favorable contract matters less if the beam cannot be operated safely and consistently. A successful demonstration in 2028 would answer some questions, but commercial scale would still depend on manufacturing repeatability and utility acceptance.

Why AI Data Centers Are Forcing New Energy Strategies

AI infrastructure changes the energy conversation because training and running large models require dense computing clusters, specialized chips, cooling systems, backup power, and constant availability. Data centers already support cloud services, social media, enterprise software, streaming, and online commerce. AI adds a new layer of electricity demand because advanced model training and inference can concentrate computing needs into very large facilities.

The International Energy Agency estimates that data center electricity consumption will grow by around 15% per year from 2024 to 2030 in its base case. That growth rate is more than four times faster than projected electricity demand growth from other sectors in the same period. AI is the main driver in the IEA’s outlook, though conventional digital services also contribute.

The U.S. case is especially demanding. The EIA forecast for 2026 through 2027 linked rising U.S. electricity demand partly to data centers, manufacturing, and other large loads. New data centers increasingly seek hundreds of megawatts for single campuses. At that scale, project timing depends on transmission availability, generation queues, utility planning, and state-level approval processes.

Meta has responded with a portfolio approach. Its sustainability energy page lists power purchase agreements, storage work, geothermal partnerships, and nuclear initiatives. Its April 2026 announcement adds space solar and ultra-long-duration storage to that mix. This pattern shows that AI companies are no longer treating electricity as a back-office utility expense. Electricity has become a strategic input similar to land, chips, fiber, and water.

Large technology buyers also want power with particular operating traits. Solar power can be cheap and scalable in many regions, but its output follows sunlight. Wind power can produce strongly in some seasons and regions, but it varies with weather. Batteries help shift power over short periods, but many grid systems need multi-day or seasonal balancing. Nuclear power offers firm generation, yet new projects face long development timelines and regulatory review.

Meta’s agreement with Noon Energy targets the storage side of that problem. Noon says its technology uses carbon-based storage and reversible solid oxide fuel cells. Meta’s announcement says the planned capacity would provide more than 100 hours of storage, far longer than normal lithium-ion battery systems used for four-hour grid balancing. That does not remove the need for new generation, but it could improve the value of renewable projects by shifting stored electricity across longer gaps.

Space solar sits in a different category. It attempts to change the generation profile of solar assets rather than store surplus electricity after production. In Overview’s framing, the satellite becomes a movable, orbital source that lets solar farms generate at night. That could make existing interconnection rights more productive and reduce the need to build separate receiving infrastructure.

Cost remains the test. Terrestrial renewables, grid batteries, geothermal, nuclear uprates, demand response, and transmission upgrades all compete for capital. A space solar system serving AI data centers must compete against those alternatives after accounting for launch, satellite replacement, orbital operations, insurance, safety systems, and financing costs. A capacity reservation from Meta helps the startup tell a more credible financing story, but it does not settle the economics.

The Space Economy Angle Behind the Meta Deal

Space-based solar power has lived for decades in the gap between physics and finance. The physics of collecting sunlight in orbit and transmitting energy wirelessly has long been understood at a general level. The obstacle has been building a system large enough, light enough, safe enough, and cheap enough to beat terrestrial options. Falling launch prices, better spacecraft manufacturing, autonomous operations, and commercial demand from AI have changed the calculation, but they have not removed the barriers.

ESA’s SOLARIS initiative reflects that shift in Europe. The European Space Agency has funded studies on satellite technology that could collect solar energy in space and transmit it to ground receivers. ESA has also examined radio-frequency concepts and reflector-based systems that could boost terrestrial solar farms. The agency has framed the work as a way to evaluate feasibility before deciding whether to pursue a larger development program.

NASA has taken a more restrained posture. Its 2024 technology and policy study compared representative 2 GW utility-scale systems and emphasized costs, emissions, and capability gaps. NASA did not dismiss the topic, but it described it as a field needing more analysis and technology development. That cautious stance gives investors a useful counterweight to overly optimistic claims.

A 2025 Joule study modeled space-based solar power for European-scale power system decarbonization. The authors found that a heliostat design could cut total system costs by 7% to 15%, offset up to 80% of wind and solar capacity, and reduce battery needs by more than 70% if major cost and performance assumptions hold. The same study found another design economically unattractive at projected costs, which shows how much depends on architecture.

The Meta agreement enters this debate from the demand side. A hyperscale technology company is not funding a government study for 2050. It is reserving capacity tied to commercial targets beginning near 2030. That does not mean the target date will hold, but it compresses the market conversation. Investors, utilities, regulators, and launch providers can now evaluate space solar against a named buyer and a specific AI load case.

For the space economy, that buyer signal may influence several markets. Launch companies could see demand for repeated deployment of power satellites. Space manufacturers could pursue larger structures and high-volume production methods. In-space operations firms could support inspection, servicing, and replacement. Ground energy companies could explore hybrid contracts that pair terrestrial solar farms with orbital augmentation.

The emerging market still lacks settled standards. Regulators will need to evaluate optical safety, aviation coordination, satellite licensing, grid interconnection, liability, and environmental review. Insurance underwriters will need pricing models for power satellites that fail, degrade, drift, or produce less energy than expected. Utilities will need metering and dispatch rules for energy that arrives as light and exits a solar farm as electricity.

Space solar also competes with other space-based AI energy ideas. Some companies and public figures have discussed putting data centers in orbit, where solar power is constant and heat can radiate into space. That path differs sharply from Overview’s model. Overview leaves the data center on Earth and sends energy downward. Orbital data centers would move compute infrastructure upward. The former confronts energy transmission and satellite economics. The latter confronts compute hardware radiation, latency, maintenance, and launch replacement cycles.

Safety, Regulation, and Public Acceptance Will Decide the Pace

Any system that beams energy from space to Earth will draw safety questions before it reaches commercial scale. Overview’s public materials say its beam is wide, low-intensity, invisible, and designed to remain below eye-safety limits. The company also says near-infrared light already appears in technologies such as fiber optics and medical imaging. Those claims will need regulatory review, independent testing, and operating procedures that can withstand public scrutiny.

Aviation and space traffic rules will matter. Beam corridors must account for aircraft, satellites, weather, and emergency shutoff conditions. Optical systems need fail-safe modes if pointing accuracy drifts or a receiving site cannot accept power. The system also needs cybersecurity protection because beam control and grid dispatch would become energy infrastructure functions.

Public acceptance may become as important as engineering. Even a low-intensity beam can trigger concern if communities do not trust the operator, the regulator, or the safety case. Solar farms already face local debates over land use in some regions. Space-linked augmentation could add questions about sky visibility, wildlife effects, emergency response, and liability for unexpected faults.

The ground footprint may help Overview’s case if the system truly uses existing solar facilities. Projects that avoid new receiving stations could face less land-use resistance than microwave concepts needing dedicated antennas or rectennas. Yet the system still depends on participating solar farms, utility agreements, and local knowledge about how additional nighttime production affects grid operations.

Environmental review will also follow the satellites. Launch emissions, manufacturing materials, orbital debris risk, satellite lifetime, end-of-life disposal, and collision avoidance all enter the assessment. ESA has specifically identified orbital debris and space weather as issues for future space-based solar power systems. NASA’s study also discussed in-space assembly, maintenance, and autonomy as unresolved requirements.

The legal framework is less mature than the hardware concepts. Space activities fall under national licensing and international obligations, including responsibility for national space activities under the Outer Space Treaty. Energy delivery to the grid falls under electricity regulation, state utility processes, and market rules. A commercial system will sit across those domains, which means permitting cannot rely on a single familiar pathway.

Insurance, finance, and contracts will convert those uncertainties into price. A buyer may reserve capacity, but lenders and project investors will ask how energy output gets measured, how underperformance gets handled, who carries satellite failure risk, and how force majeure clauses cover space weather or launch failure. Those questions can slow deployment even after a successful technical demonstration.

Safety claims need disciplined public evidence. A 2028 demonstration could show beam control, conversion efficiency, and operating procedures at meaningful scale. It will also set the tone for community trust. A safe but poorly communicated demonstration could still face resistance. A well-run demonstration with transparent measurements could give regulators a basis for staged approvals.

The Business Model Depends on Existing Solar Farms

Overview Energy’s plan is commercially interesting because it treats the solar farm as the receiver. Most space-based solar concepts describe a purpose-built ground station that receives microwave or laser energy and converts it into electricity. Overview’s near-infrared approach targets photovoltaic solar projects that already sit on land, already connect to the grid, and already have commercial relationships with utilities or power buyers.

That design changes the sales pitch. A solar developer normally earns revenue when the sun shines and prices support dispatch. At night, the facility’s grid connection and land remain underused. If orbital light could drive generation during those idle hours, the project could produce more electricity from the same site. The business model would likely require contracts dividing revenue among the satellite operator, solar project owner, power purchaser, and grid market participants.

The attraction for Meta is time. New power generation can take years because developers must secure land, permits, equipment, transmission upgrades, and interconnection approval. Using existing solar sites could reduce some of those barriers. It cannot remove the need to build satellites, but it may let the ground side scale faster if the orbital segment works.

Grid value will vary by region. Nighttime power may be highly valuable where data centers need round-the-clock supply and local clean generation is scarce after sunset. It may be less valuable where nuclear, hydro, geothermal, storage, or wind already meet overnight demand at low cost. Overview’s ability to redirect power across regions could create additional value if satellites can serve markets with different demand patterns.

A commercial contract also needs a pricing unit. TechCrunch reported that Overview developed a metric called “megawatt photons” for the contract context, describing the amount of light needed to generate a megawatt of electricity. That phrasing reflects the oddity of selling energy before grid conversion. Buyers care about delivered electricity, but the satellite provider may control photons, beam quality, and delivery windows rather than the full grid output.

Project finance examines the conversion chain closely. A solar farm’s output from orbital illumination will depend on panel response to near-infrared wavelengths, atmospheric conditions, beam shape, weather, equipment degradation, and operational curtailment. A bankable project must turn those variables into dependable energy forecasts. Lenders dislike open-ended technology risk, especially in infrastructure with long repayment periods.

The advantage of serving data centers is that demand can be steady and creditworthy. A large technology company can sign long-term contracts, support demonstration financing, and give suppliers confidence that a market exists if performance targets are met. The disadvantage is that AI power demand is changing so quickly that project timing must align with data center buildout, grid capacity, and competing energy procurement.

A successful space solar business may begin as a premium service rather than a lowest-cost commodity. Early power could serve customers willing to pay for clean, firm, high-profile energy tied to strategic load growth. Over time, costs would need to fall through satellite production learning, launch cadence, design simplification, and operating experience. That path resembles other infrastructure transitions, where early projects prove capability before later projects chase cost.

Meta’s Deal Does Not Remove the Case for Caution

The majority position among energy analysts remains that terrestrial renewables, storage, transmission, nuclear uprates, geothermal, and demand management will meet most near-term data center power needs before space solar reaches commercial maturity. That position rests on cost, regulation, supply chain readiness, and installed project experience. Space solar may become useful, but its first commercial decade will still compete against energy technologies with deeper operating records.

NASA’s 2024 assessment supports that caution. The agency found that the space-based solar designs it studied would be more expensive than terrestrial sustainable alternatives under its 2050 assumptions, even though costs could fall if technology gaps narrow. The study identified in-space assembly, autonomous operations, efficient power beaming, launch cost, and manufacturing cost as areas needing progress.

The Meta agreement adds a counterargument. AI demand is moving faster than traditional grid planning in many regions. If data centers need power before transmission and generation queues can respond, a technology that increases production from already connected solar assets could attract buyers even before it reaches the lowest theoretical cost. That does not mean space solar can ignore economics. It means value may come from time, location, and reliability rather than energy price alone.

Skepticism should also apply to target dates. Overview’s public materials point to a 2028 orbital demonstration and commercial operations around 2030. Those milestones are ambitious because they require hardware development, launch planning, licensing, safety validation, ground integration, and buyer acceptance. Many space projects slip as they move from prototype to production. Energy projects also slip when interconnection, permitting, or financing conditions change.

The central uncertainty is scale. Demonstrating wireless energy transmission from an aircraft or a small satellite is different from delivering grid-scale power through a commercial constellation. The system must work repeatedly, safely, and affordably. It must also survive the normal failure modes of space infrastructure: radiation, thermal cycling, deployment faults, launch delays, component aging, and orbital hazards.

Cost comparisons can also mislead if they ignore system value. A kilowatt-hour from space solar may cost more than a daytime kilowatt-hour from a ground solar farm. It may still be useful if it arrives at night, avoids new land, uses an existing grid interconnection, or supports a data center during high-price hours. The relevant comparison is not always cheapest daytime electricity. For AI infrastructure, the comparison may be clean, dependable, locally deliverable energy at the time it is needed.

Meta’s move should be read as an option on a future energy pathway. The company is reserving capacity from a startup, not replacing its broader energy strategy. The best-case outcome gives Meta another tool for data center power. The worst-case outcome leaves the company with a failed or delayed experimental procurement and more reliance on conventional clean energy contracts.

For the space economy, the lesson is narrower and still meaningful. Commercial space infrastructure increasingly connects to Earth markets with urgent constraints. Energy, computing, communications, climate monitoring, positioning, and security all create demand that space companies can address only if their offerings beat terrestrial alternatives in price, timing, reliability, or strategic value.

Summary

Meta’s agreement with Overview Energy gives space-based solar power a new commercial reference point. The Inc. story captured the headline: a major technology company wants to explore power from orbit to support AI. The deeper significance lies in the combination of buyer, timing, and system design. A hyperscale data center operator has reserved up to 1 GW from a startup that wants to turn idle nighttime solar farms into 24-hour grid assets.

The strongest case for the technology is not that space solar will automatically beat every ground-based alternative. Its stronger argument is that AI load growth has created demand for clean power that arrives at the right location and time. If Overview can use existing solar farms, avoid new land, and deliver light safely from geosynchronous orbit, it could offer an unusual answer to grid bottlenecks.

The strongest case against overconfidence is equally direct. NASA, ESA, and academic studies all point to hard questions around cost, in-space assembly, debris risk, transmission safety, regulation, and scale. A demonstration in 2028 would mark progress, not completion. Commercial delivery in 2030 would require a chain of technical, financial, and regulatory wins.

Meta AI space power now belongs in the serious energy conversation because the demand signal is real. The technology still needs proof at the level that electricity markets recognize: measured output, dependable service, safe operation, financeable cost, and contracts that survive contact with utility regulation.

Appendix: Useful Books Available on Amazon

• The Grid
• Data Center Handbook
• Data Center Power Systems
• Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air
• The Case for Space Solar Power
• Renewable Energy

Appendix: Top Questions Answered in This Article

What did Meta announce about space solar energy?

Meta announced an agreement with Overview Energy to reserve up to 1 GW of space solar capacity for data center operations. The system would collect sunlight in geosynchronous orbit and transmit it to existing solar farms as low-intensity near-infrared light. Meta described the deal as part of a broader AI energy strategy.

When could Overview Energy demonstrate the system?

Overview Energy’s orbital demonstration is planned for 2028, according to Meta’s April 2026 announcement. Commercial delivery to the U.S. grid could begin as early as 2030 if the demonstration and follow-on development succeed. Those dates remain targets because the system still needs technical, regulatory, and commercial validation.

Why would a solar farm need power from space?

A normal solar farm produces electricity only when sufficient sunlight reaches its panels. Overview Energy’s concept would send near-infrared light to solar farms at night or during low-output periods. That could let existing grid-connected solar projects produce additional electricity without building separate receiving stations.

How does space solar relate to AI data centers?

AI data centers require large amounts of dependable electricity for computing equipment, cooling, networking, and backup systems. As AI demand rises, companies such as Meta need more power in places where grid capacity can be hard to secure quickly. Space solar could become one tool for increasing clean electricity supply near existing grid assets.

Is space-based solar power already proven at grid scale?

Space-based solar power has not yet been proven as a commercial grid-scale energy source. Research groups and companies have demonstrated pieces of the technology, including wireless power transmission and lightweight space power concepts. The full chain from orbital collection to utility-scale electricity delivery still needs validation.

Why is geosynchronous orbit important for this concept?

Geosynchronous orbit lets a satellite maintain a steady relationship with a region on Earth because its orbital period matches Earth’s rotation. That makes it useful for systems that need persistent service to receiving locations. The tradeoff is that this orbit is much farther away than low Earth orbit, which adds technical difficulty.

What are the main risks for Meta’s space power plan?

The main risks include cost, satellite manufacturing, launch cadence, beam safety, orbital debris, regulation, and grid integration. A power-beaming system must also operate reliably enough for electricity markets and data center customers. A successful demonstration would reduce some uncertainty but would not remove all deployment risk.

How does Noon Energy fit into Meta’s announcement?

Noon Energy addresses the storage side of Meta’s AI power strategy. Meta reserved up to 1 GW/100 GWh of ultra-long-duration storage capacity and expects a 25 MW/2.5 GWh pilot demonstration in 2028. Storage can help clean energy serve data centers during periods when generation falls.

Does this mean orbital solar will replace terrestrial renewables?

Orbital solar is more likely to complement terrestrial renewables if it reaches commercial scale. Ground solar, wind, storage, nuclear, geothermal, and transmission will remain central to energy planning because they already operate within known regulatory and cost structures. Space solar must prove that its added value justifies its extra complexity.

Why is the Meta agreement important for the space economy?

The agreement gives space-based solar power a named commercial buyer with a large energy need. That can help attract investor attention, supplier interest, and regulatory engagement. It also shows how space infrastructure may connect to Earth markets through energy, computing, and grid reliability rather than through traditional satellite services alone.

Appendix: Glossary of Key Terms

Artificial Intelligence

Computer systems use statistical models, algorithms, and large datasets to perform tasks normally associated with human reasoning, pattern recognition, language generation, and decision support. In this context, the term refers mainly to large-scale computing workloads that increase data center electricity demand.

Data Center

Large facilities house servers, networking equipment, storage systems, cooling infrastructure, backup power, and security systems. AI data centers often require dense computing clusters and large, steady electricity supplies because model training and inference place heavy demands on processors and cooling systems.

Geosynchronous Orbit

Satellites in this orbit match Earth’s rotation period, allowing them to maintain a stable apparent position relative to broad service regions. For power-beaming concepts, that stability can help a spacecraft maintain a consistent relationship with ground receiving areas.

Gigawatt

A unit of electrical power equal to 1 billion watts. Utility-scale power plants and very large energy procurement agreements often use gigawatts because the quantities involved are much larger than household or small commercial electricity needs.

Gigawatt-Hour

A unit of stored or delivered energy equal to one gigawatt supplied for one hour. Storage projects use this measure because it describes how long a system can deliver a given power level before it needs recharging.

Near-Infrared Light

Electromagnetic radiation sits just beyond visible red light and can be converted by certain photovoltaic equipment. Overview Energy’s proposed system would use this type of light to send energy from satellites to solar projects on Earth.

Power Purchase Agreement

A long-term contract allows a buyer to purchase electricity or energy attributes from a power project. Large technology companies use these agreements to support new clean energy projects, manage price exposure, and match electricity demand with contracted supply.

Space-Based Solar Power

Orbital systems collect sunlight above the atmosphere and transmit energy to Earth by wireless means. The concept has attracted renewed attention because launch costs, autonomous spacecraft operations, and demand for firm clean power have changed the commercial discussion.

Ultra-Long-Duration Storage

Energy storage systems in this category can deliver electricity for periods far longer than conventional short-duration batteries. Meta’s Noon Energy agreement uses this term for storage designed to provide more than 100 hours of output.

Wireless Power Transfer

Energy moves from one place to another without a physical wire, usually through electromagnetic waves or directed light. In space solar systems, wireless transfer must satisfy efficiency, safety, pointing, and regulatory requirements at much larger scales than normal demonstrations.