Australian researchers show solar power can be generated at night

The earth emits about 230W/m^2 in infrared [1] (compare with 1000W/m^2 for solar flux), so it's potentially an idea worth pursuing.

This group has posted several records for solar cell efficiency, so they generally know what they are doing. They are up front that it's simply a proof of concept and if it works out there is a whole industry to develop to make it commercially viable.

One would imagine that the half-life of the Earth's infrared emissions could be quite long, so apart from batteries and a global grid it might be a way to make renewable power more independent of the weather?

[1] https://www.spenvis.oma.be/help/background/illumination/illu...