Placing solar panels in space means you can collect sunlight regardless of the weather, and proponents say it could help power remote areas of the world where infrastructure may not exist.
Technology is advancing:
Why did we write this?
Solar panels in space have the ability to deliver power to remote locations or to areas affected by natural disasters. Private companies and others are working to improve this technology.
Space Solar, a British startup, envisions providing enough solar energy for about 3,000 homes by 2030.
A California-based startup says it will launch a constellation of orbiting mirrors by 2025 to extend hours of sunlight to solar panels on Earth.
Last year, a prototype from the California Institute of Technology collected energy from space for the first time. China and Japan intend to follow suit by 2028 and 2025, respectively.
The energy captured in space will be converted into radio waves (or lasers) and sent to a receiving station on Earth to be converted into electricity. Or the devices might act as giant mirrors, reflecting sunlight onto solar panels on the planet’s surface just before the sun hits them in the morning, or deep into dusk.
Cost is an obstacle: A recent NASA report found that space-based solar power can be 12 to 80 times more expensive than terrestrial alternatives. But the recent test flight of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle showed promise that could bring down the cost.
Imagine a vast field of solar panels, extending in a continuous array across nearly a square mile of land. Now, transport this image to outer space, where the giant structure sits tens of thousands of miles above the Earth’s surface, and you’ll have an idea of what space solar energy seeks to achieve.
The motivation for this energy source comes not only from its advantages over terrestrial solar energy, but also from the characteristics that set it apart from most other energy sources.
Proponents say it could help power parts of the world that struggle to tap into traditional forms of energy – either because of its remote location, or because the relevant infrastructure simply doesn’t exist.
Why did we write this?
Solar panels in space have the ability to deliver power to remote locations or to areas affected by natural disasters. Private companies and others are working to improve this technology.
“Solar, fusion, nuclear, coal — you name it — you have to have a factory somewhere and provide the infrastructure to support it,” says Paul Jaffe, a former electronics engineer at the US Naval Research Laboratory. “With space solar, you have the ability to redirect power from the satellite to anywhere on Earth.”
Technology is advancing
In a sign that the technology goes beyond the realm of science fiction, Space Solar, a British startup, recently signed a world-first partnership with an Icelandic energy company to provide solar power from space by 2030 – with enough satellites envisioned to power around 3,000 satellites. industrial. Houses.
Space Solar also achieved another milestone by being the first to demonstrate 360-degree power transmission technology, meaning solar panels can send power back to Earth, no matter how they rotate to continue facing the sun.
Meanwhile, a California-based startup says it will launch a constellation of orbiting mirrors by 2025 to extend the hours of sunlight available to solar panels on Earth.
Last year, a prototype from the California Institute of Technology collected solar energy into space and sent back a detectable amount for the first time. China and Japan intend to follow suit by 2028 and 2025, respectively.
“I’m actually very optimistic,” says Martin Soltau, co-CEO and co-founder of Space Solar. “There are more complex robots in space right now, like the Mars rover, and we don’t need anything close to that complexity.”
The idea of space solar energy is to harvest the sun’s energy beyond the vagaries of our planet’s weather systems, and at altitudes so high that solar panels’ view of the sun is almost never obscured.
The energy captured by these solar arrays will be converted into radio waves (or, in some cases, lasers) and sent to a receiving station on Earth, using the concept of wireless power transmission, where the radio waves will in turn be converted into electricity.
In some versions, the devices simply act as giant mirrors, reflecting sunlight back to solar panels on the planet’s surface, allowing them to convert the energy into electricity just before the sun hits them in the morning, or deep into dusk.
These sunlight-harvesting structures would not be comparable in size to anything currently in orbit: 3,000 times the size of the International Space Station, according to a NASA study of representative designs.
Cost is the biggest hurdle. actually, NASA report It found that space-based solar power can be 12 to 80 times more expensive than terrestrial alternatives. But the report says he had to make assumptions because the technology is so new.
“We found that cost is dominated by the launch and manufacturing process,” says Erica Rodgers, director of advanced programs in NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy, and lead author of the report.
As for launch costs, there was a boost in mid-October, with the fifth test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built. In a world first, the booster section reached the edge of space and then descended to grab two steel arms in the launch pad tower.
Repeated efforts in November were less successful, but SpaceX Falcon’s smaller rockets have already proven reusability. However, those missiles return to platforms at sea and need to be towed back to land and replenished over a period of weeks. The spacecraft’s aspiration to relaunch within hours, coupled with its enormous capacity, could significantly reduce the cost of getting into space.
“Starship is the kind of capability that is going to be needed,” Space Solar’s Mr. Soltau says. “We need a number of launch providers in order to be flexible and remain competitive, but quickly, this market is evolving.”
One concern that some critics point out is the level of greenhouse gas emissions that could be produced by putting a space-based solar energy system into orbit. But the NASA report concludes that for each unit of electricity generated, emissions are likely consistent with those generated by building terrestrial clean energy systems.
Although it would likely be expensive, space-based solar capabilities could mitigate the cost.
For example, a remote mining operation, far from any electrical grid, has to pay much more than average for its energy. It may be cheaper to build a space-based solar receiving station, rather than dedicate infrastructure to either connect to the grid or generate its own power.
Likewise, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, when the grid suffers catastrophic damage, temporary receivers can be charged to obtain power from solar installations located in space.
In such scenarios, some say, this technology could find its starting position, even if costs remain high in the early days.
Concerns include the impact on human health
But even if the price is acceptable and the technology develops smoothly, there are still issues of concern.
Establishing international regulations and standards will be critical for several reasons. The first, Mr. Soltau says, is to ensure interoperability “so that a country in Africa, for example, can build an antenna and know that it is designed to standards so that it can receive power from any solar satellite.”
Other concerns include whether sending power to Earth would cause interference with communications, for example, or harm human health.
The frequencies used by space solar radio waves can be tuned to a frequency range that will cause minimal disruption to other systems. Operators can be assured that the equipment used emits a maximum beam intensity far below anything that could be harmful. For example, Space Solar states that its technology cannot transmit anything stronger than a quarter of the sun’s intensity at midday.
“The analogy here is if you have an electric dryer in your house, obviously the electricity coming into it would be very dangerous if you didn’t have insulation and systems,” says Dr. Jaffe, who now works at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. “We may have to do something similar with space solar energy.”