Turning Sunlight Into Oil

About 14 months ago, I posted the following:

There was an interesting article in POPSCI last month [November 2009] about a new technology to make fuel/oil from carbon dioxide and sunlight — effectively making fuel out of thin air.

• Making fuel/oil
• Using sunlight
• Consuming CO₂
      This news is GREENER than GREEN.

This is HUGE, even as it stands. If it pans out at a larger scale, then it's HISTORIC.

UPDATE: A Technology Review article confirms the demonstration of a prototype device, the first step out of the laboratory and toward full-scale operation.

Now there's word of another technology in this area. (See this, too.) This one holds promise of being more easily scalable, and therefore more likely to produce a large-scale economic breakthrough. This technology, its proponents claim, should be able to produce fuel at $30/barrel. At that price, if they can achieve it, OPEC will be put out of business.

One must hope that one or both of these technologies (and/or one or more others) succeeds, and produces — SOON. That may be the best way to save the world's economies, as the Middle East goes (even more) insane.