if a space lift excisted what would power it???

Question: if a space lift excisted what would power it???
- Keywords:
  lift,
  power,
  space,
  space lift
Asked by freddiewm to Alan, Caspar, Diana, Murray, Sarah on 25 Mar 2011.
- Sarah Thomas answered on 25 Mar 2011:
  
  I don’t know. It wouldn’t be very good if it was powered by gas, or fossil fuels or electricity because these are finite resources and not very efficient so it would take a really long time for the space life to get anywhere! Maybe they could use rocket fuel somehow to power it? Or maybe we could use solar power? Because it would be easy to get solar energy in space because there are no clouds blocking it! Or maybe there is a more natural method, like say there was a tether going from the lift to the ground, there could be a weight on the bottom that would hold it in place by gravity and it could be like a counter weight like the way that normal lifts work!! And there could just be loads of levers and pulleys to make it go up and down?

Question: if a space lift excisted what would power it???