Oxfordshire-based Space Solar continues to make progress with its prototype on Earth, on its way to deploying the first space-based solar farm in orbit.
Space solar farm energy
The company plans to provide power to more than one million homes by the 2030s through a mile-wide system of mirrors and orbital solar panels located 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface.
[post_relacionado]Its efficient design, called CASSIOPeiA, constantly tracks the sun to send energy to a fixed receiver on Earth. This concept has been validated for the first time at Queen’s University of Belfast, where energy delivery via a wireless beam was successfully achieved.
The potential of space solar power lies in its ability to generate up to 13 times more energy than conventional solar panels on Earth, due to the higher light intensity and the absence of atmospheric obstacles. Although some of the energy would be lost during transmission back to Earth, this technology would far outperform traditional solar generation. traditional solar generation.
Space Solar and its vision with this prototype
In the company’s words, it promises a steady source of energy, making it an attractive option to support land-based renewables and replace polluting sources such as nuclear power and gas turbines. In addition, the cost of electricity generated by this method is reduced to approximately one-fourth of the cost of nuclear power.
The use of rockets such as SpaceX’s Starship could transform the economic viability of this project by reducing the cost of launching into space. It is estimated that 68 launches would be needed to assemble an orbital power plant, a project possible these days.
However, a crucial challenge will be to ensure public safety in relation to microwave power transmission from space. On the other hand, the system is designed with rigorous security measures and would be located far from populated areas, probably offshore.
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Source and photo: Space Solar