Space Power

First proposed in 1968 by then-president of the International Solar Energy Society Peter Glaser, this technology, based on collecting sunlight from a geostationary orbit high above the Earth would enable the gathering of constant light that is eight times as strong as the sunlight found at ground level. A solar panel on the orbiting structure would convert the light to electric current, which would then be beamed to Earth by microwave to a specified antenna. Researchers estimate that satellites with solar panels would have to be more than one mile long. A big challenge is that the final output, under current technology, is too low to justify the enormous costs related to such a project, initially estimated to be $305 billion (in 2000 dollars). Since then, costs may have fallen somewhat due to technological advances.

The University of Neuchatel in Switzerland developed a film for use in space that potentially yields very high-power densities per kilogram of satellite weight. There is also interest in SSP in Japan, where the JAXA space agency has expressed interest in launching a satellite that would spread into a sizable solar array capable of beaming 100 kilowatts of microwave or laser power to Earth.

In late 2022, the European Space Agency approved Solaris, a study focused on the cost-effectiveness of building solar farms in outer space and transferring collected solar energy to electricity grids on Earth via microwave beams. In September 2022, engineers at Airbus successfully transmitted two kilowatts of power collected from solar cells to receptors more than 30 meters away in Munich. In a separate initiative, a UK government assessment of SSP found that a satellite capable of producing two gigawatts of electricity (about the same as a terrestrial power station) might be possible as early 2040. However, many technical and financial hurdles remain.

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