MOST PEOPLE THINK EARTH IS THE ENERGY CEILING
"I'd say you're an extremely kick-ass civilization if you get to 1% of the Sun's energy. And I'm like, wow, that civilization's going to be vastly more powerful than us, to say the least."
—
@elonmusk
Right now we harness almost none of our star's power. Even the sunlight that hits Earth is only about half a billionth of what the Sun puts out.
• Today — <<1 trillionth of the Sun (not even Kardashev Type I yet)
• Aspiration — even a millionth of the Sun (>1,000× Earth's max possible)
• 1% of the Sun — a civilization vastly more powerful than us
Starship moves the tonnage.
Orbital solar captures the watts.
Type II is the destination.