Solar energy could come from space panels as technology advances
Imagine a large field of solar panels, going to an uninterrupted network on almost a square mile of land. Now move this image in space, with the giant structure seated tens of thousands of kilometers above the surface of the earth, and you have an idea of what solar energy based on space seeks to reach.
The reader of this source of energy does not only come from its advantages compared to terrestrial solar, but also from characteristics which distinguish it from most other sources of energy.
Supporters say that it can help feed the parts of the world that fight to exploit more traditional forms of energy – either because of their distant location, or because the related infrastructure simply does not exist.
Why we wrote this
Solar panels in space can provide energy to distant locations or areas struck by a natural disaster. Private and others are working to refine technology.
“Solar, fusion, nuclear, coal – you call it – you must have a factory somewhere and provide infrastructure to support it,” explains Paul Jaffe, former electronics engineer at US Naval Research Laboratory. “With Space Solar, you have the potential to redirect the energy of a satellite to anywhere on Earth.”
Technology advances
In a sign that technology goes beyond the field of science fiction, Space Solar, a British startup, recently wrote a global partnership first with an Icelandic energy company to provide the solar energy of the space by 2030-considering sufficient satellites for electricity around 3000 houses.
Space Solar has also burst beyond another important step to be the first to demonstrate 360 -degree power radiage technology – which means that solar panels can bring energy back to earth, no matter how they turn to continue to face the sun.
A Startup based in California, on the other hand, indicates that it will launch a constellation of orbit mirrors by 2025 to extend the hours of sun available to solar panels on earth.
And last year, a prototype of the California Institute of Technology gathered solar energy in space and brought a detectable quantity for the first time. China and Japan intend to follow the step respectively – 2028 and 2025.
“I am very optimistic indeed,” explains Martin Soltau, CO-PDG and co-founder of Space Solar. “There is currently a much more complicated robotics in space, like Mars Rover – we need nothing as complicated as that.”
The idea of spatial solar energy is to harvest the energy of the sun far beyond the whims of the meteorological systems on our planet, and so high that the vision of solar panels on the sun is almost never overshadowed.
The energy captured by these solar networks would be converted into radio waves (or, in some cases, lasers) and radiated as a reception station on earth, using a wireless power transmission concept, where radio waves will, in turn, convert to electricity.
In some versions, the equipment would simply act like giant mirrors, reflecting the sun’s rays in solar panels on the surface of the planet, allowing them to convert energy into electricity before the sun strikes them directly in the morning, or deeply twilight.
These sun harvest structures would be incomparable on the scale of everything that is currently in orbit: 3,000 times the area of the International Space Station, according to a study by NASA of representative conceptions.
The cost is the largest obstacle. Indeed, the NASA report revealed that spatial solar energy could be 12 to 80 times more expensive than terrestrial alternatives. But the report indicates that he had to make assumptions because the technology is so new.
“We have found that the cost is really dominated by launch and manufacturing,” explains Erica Rodgers, director of advanced programs for the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy of NASA, and the main author of the report.
Regarding the launch costs, a boost came in mid-October, with the fifth starship test of SpaceX, the most powerful rocket ever built. In a first world, the recall section reached the edge of the space, then went down to be caught by two steel arms at the Launchpad tower.
A repeated effort in November was less successful, but the smallest Roquettes Spacex Falcon have already demonstrated reusability. However, these rockets return to sea platforms and must be towed to land and renovated over the weeks. The removal starship aspiration in a few hours, as well as its enormous capacity, could considerably reduce the cost of access to space.
“The spacecraft is the kind of capacity that will be necessary,” explains Mr. Startau de Space Solar. “We must have a number of launch providers for resilience and keep them competitive, but quickly, this market is evolving.”
One of the concerns that some criticisms cite is the level of greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced by orbit a solar energy system based on space. But the NASA report concludes that, per unit of electricity production, emissions are likely to comply with those produced by the construction of clean energy systems based on the ground.
And, although it is probably expensive, the capacities of spatial solar energy could reduce the cost.
For example, a remote mining operation, far from any electrical network, should pay much more than the average for its power. It could be cheaper to build a reception station for spatial solar energy, rather than being done so that the infrastructure connects to the network or to generate its own power.
Similarly, following a natural disaster, when the grid suffered catastrophic damage, temporary receivers could be shipped for energy source from spatial solar installations.
It is in such scenarios, let’s say some, that this technology could find its initial niche, even if the costs remain high at the start.
Concerns include an effect on human health
But even if the price is acceptable and the technology develops smoothly, there are still problems that make it concern.
The implementation of regulations and international standards will be essential for various reasons. One, says M. Sentau, must ensure interoperability “so that a country in Africa, for example, can build an antenna and know that it is built according to the standard so that it can receive the energy from any solar energy satellite.”
Other concerns include if the radiant energy to the earth will lead to interference in communications, for example, or damage to human health.
The frequencies used by space -based solar radio waves can be set to a bandwidth that will cause minimum disturbance for other systems. Operators can ensure that the equipment used emits a maximum intensity of the beam well below everything that would be harmful. Space Solar, for example, indicates that its technology could not transfer anything more powerful than a quarter of the intensity of the sun at noon.
“The analogy here is that if you have an electric dryer in your home, the electricity that happens would obviously be very dangerous if you had no insulation and regulation,” explains Dr. Jaffe, now at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. “We may have to do something similar for space solar energy.”
