The solar panel is easy, it’s the cable run that’s a real bitch
Yeah, sending it wirelessly would have massive loss, probably around 90%+
Are they really losses when the leaking, unfocused energy turns all buildings in a kilometer radius into microwave ovens? Just fill them up with popcorn packets and invite everyone over for movie night. We could watch one of the James Bond movies where the villain has an orbital deathray. I think there’s at least a couple of them.
I saw this documentary about a device that can concentrate solar energy, called a “Solex Agitator.” The project went sideways when this guy, who looked an awful lot like Christopher Lee, stole the prototype and tried to sell it to the highest bidder.
The British government somehow got involved and sent a spy to…
Wait… maybe that wasn’t a documentary.
That sounds like the least economical way possible to build out solar.
The article is actually discussing a feasibility study for the far future (25 years from now as per the article):
For the first time, researchers from King’s College London have assessed the possible impact that generating solar energy in space could have for Europe. They found it could cut energy battery storage needs by more than two-thirds.
The study, published in Joule, analysed the potential of a design by NASA for solar generation, which is planned to be in use by 2050. The findings show the design could also save money by reducing the cost of the whole power system in Europe by up to 15%, including energy generation, storage and network infrastructure costs – an estimated saving of 35.9 billion euros per year.
Space-based solar power generation involves in-space continuous collection of solar energy. This involves placing large solar panels on satellites in orbit, where they are exposed to much more sunlight and can continuously collect energy without being affected by clouds or the day-night cycle. This energy would then be transmitted to one or more stations on Earth. It is then converted to electricity and delivered to the energy grid or batteries for storage.
It’s a cool idea and I’d imagine we’d need an array spanning the globe rather than just over one continent
You could build a circle of satellites on the dawn dusk line, just have them do polar orbits. I think there’s such a thing as a solar stationary orbit.
The thing is, 25 years isn’t really that far in the future. Not when you count all the lead in time. Firstly you have to invent the microwave power transmission array, that’s probably going to take it a decade, and that’s been optimistic, then you’ve somehow got to arrange to launch hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of solar power satellites, then you have to figure out a way for the satellites to transmit the energy to the transmission array, and you have to build the receiving array on earth.
It took them 10 months just to build our companies new building, and it’s the most generic thing you’ve ever seen. How are they going to do all this in 25 years?
(25 years from now as per the article)
Anything 20 years or more away is a pipe dream that isn’t likely to happen anywhere close to speculation.
So could a fucking Dyson sphere. This article is PopMech-tier speculative trash. A flying car in every driveway, any day now since the 1960s…
How’s that coming along?
https://eepower.com/news/pge-start-up-solaren-corp-plan-to-beam-solar-power-from-space/
Oh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaren
" Solaren has since announced that the contract with PG&E has been forgone"
This is just Space Nuttery. Never, ever, EVER, going to work. Strictly sci-fi.
Some sci-fi comes true. Sadly usually only the dystopian ones.
This energy would then be transmitted to one or more stations on Earth. It is then converted to electricity and delivered to the energy grid or batteries for storage.
How is the energy transmitted to Earth?
Yeah this article is severely lacking in any concrete details.
I’d also like to know how exactly it is that they plan to deploy massive arrays of solar panels to space. Most earth-based solar farms are huge and take up entire fields, some are a few kilometres across in size. That’s many orders of magnitude more massive than anything we’ve previously ever launched.
Plus whatever power transmission system they come up with would have to be powerful to be of any use but if it’s that powerful would present an active danger and would effectively constitute a space-based weapon system.
It’s a cool sci-fi idea but it is all pie in the sky.
Back of the napkin math:
Largest solar sail (much lighter than panels, but doesn’t produce electricity) 2000 sq meters
200w/sq meter
400kwp
Also iirc the space solar farms plans I’ve seen call for re radiating the energy back via microwaves to dedicated receiving towers on the ground
This energy would then be transmitted to one or more stations on Earth.
And how do you suppose to do that?
Beam the power from space like they do in Mirai Shounen Conan? Or space shuttles with batteries? Or a giant cable that somehow doesn’t break?
It’s not possible.
Naw, you just beam it back to earth as a laser. That way you could highjack the signal and fill a house with popcorn kernals a to start a huge neighborhood block party.
Deathray!
That’s a real genius plan.
Microwaves or even Masers. This is nothing new, lot’s of studies and experiments. It’s not infeasible, efficiency not that bad either. But solarpanles on earth have only advantages, especially integrated in roofs or walls.
RD1 generates power 99% of the year and collects solar radiation by autonomously redirecting its reflectors toward a concentrator to focus sunlight throughout each day. RD2 uses flat panels, with solar cells facing away from Earth and microwave emitters facing toward the Earth. RD2 generates power 60% of the year due to its limited capability to reposition itself or redirect solar radiation toward its solar cells.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20230017756/downloads/ASCEND SBSP Final 05162024.pdf
Feasible? Only time will tell. Possible? Caltech did it two years ago. Look up MAPLE. Wireless energy transfer to/from space was achieved.
At what scale? Milliwatts? Watts? On cloudy days?
This seems very much to fall into the “technically” possible, but impossible to scale realm.
