It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it could become a reality. According to a report in Alternative Energy, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and IHI Corporation are planning to design and develop a $21bn Space-based solar farm that would generate 1GW of power. The farm, housed 36,000km above the surface of the earth, would require an area of four square kilometers consisting of rows of solar panels.
But don’t get too excited about it as if the future had suddenly arrived and we could remove the drips that channel fossil fuel into the veins of our economic systems. The project has a timeline of three decades and before fully embarking on it, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will demonstrate the project’s potential with a 10MW satellite. The agency will also test the systems used to beam energy from space using high-energy radio waves or lasers to ground-based receivers.
Cryptogon also covered the story and included a quote from Kensuke Kanekiyo, managing director of the Institute of Energy Economics, a governmental agency, who said: “It sounds like a science-fiction cartoon, but solar power generation in space may be a significant alternative energy source in the century ahead as fossil fuel disappears”. The article also touches on the subject of cost: how to make commercially viable the transportation of panels to the solar station 36,000 kilometers about the earth’s surface? There is no answer to this question, at least for the time being.
All things considered, Ecogeek wasn’t impressed: “I’m looking for something that can deliver 100 gigawatts by 2030. Cheaper solar, high-altitude wind and sophisticated geothermal seem a lot more feasible to me … this seems a bit like big kids playing with big toysâ€.
It does seem like something terribly complicated and the cost-benefit ratio does not sound all that attractive. What do you think?
I have no doubt that some day this will come to be. I read about seting up a Solar generator on the moon. The only problem is to get the energy back on earth. I remember that a scientist named Tesla was on the verge of sending energy through the air. He died before he could complete his experiment. The problem was that it had to be coverged. It would spreed to wide. Look what they have done with lazers. It’s only a mater of time.