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How we could soon get our solar power from space
- Space Solar, a UK-based start-up, aims to launch the world’s first commercial enterprise that beams solar power from space back to Earth in a project that could potentially help towards generating limitless renewable energy. The company will launch a 2,000 tonne, 1.7 km wide satellite that will transmit energy wirelessly via high-frequency radio waves to ground-based stations. The six approximately 13 km stations have massive receivers, called rectenna, that convert the radio waves into electricity. The station will be able to power 3,000 homes, using space-based solar power plants that unlike ground-based solar power generation stations can generate electricity day and night, regardless of the weather conditions or cloud cover.
- The Reykjavik Energy says that solar plants won’t work efficiently on the ground, but once the satellite is launched into the right orbit, space will provide uninterrupted sunlight to the solar panels. The initiative is an $800m joint venture between Space Solar, Reykjavik Energy, and the Icelandic sustainability initiative, Transition Lab. Whose kettles will be powered by the $800 million satellite hasn’t been decided but the plan is to launch the first orbital power plant by 2030.
- If the project idea takes off, by 2036, the partners envision a fleet of six space-based solar power stations that can power Canadian and Japanese homes. Scientists have long considered using space-based solar systems, but it has been regarded as a formidable and expensive project. Space Solar will use SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket to launch power plants into emptier parts of space that will help it avoid disasters caused by space debris. A solar plant that orbits in the abyss of space continues to provide power to multiple countries simultaneously.
- The CEO of Reykjavik Energy said the project a is hugely exciting project with various engineering challenges still to be resolved. These satellites could orbit at different altitudes, providing power to multiple countries simultaneously. The global issue of climate change is looming, and solutions like this are becoming necessary in ensuring a sustainable future. By 2036, the project could provide electricity at a quarter of the cost of nuclear power. It requires an $800 million investment per gigawatt.
- Space-based solar power offers an array of benefits with competitive renewable energy costs and 24/7 availability, and the project could take renewable energy to another level, helping the world achieve carbon neutrality.
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