World first UK prototype could pave the way for constant energy all the time – from space

Building the solar power ‘farm’ in space would take more than 60 rocket flights, possibly with SpaceX, and a team of robot builders. The power would be directed away from inhabited areas, probably offshore. Whether the finance numbers would add up is anyone’s guess, but it’s claimed to be a lot cheaper than nuclear power for example, with no waste product.
– – –
A company hoping to launch the first solar farm into space has passed a critical milestone with a prototype on Earth, says Sky News.

Oxfordshire-based Space Solar plans to power more than a million homes by the 2030s with mile-wide complex of mirrors and solar panels orbiting 22,000 miles above the planet.

But its super-efficient design for harvesting constant sunlight – called CASSIOPeiA – requires the system to rotate towards the sun, whatever its position, while still sending power to a fixed receiver on the ground.

That’s now been shown to work for the first time at Queen’s University Belfast, with a wireless beam successfully “steered” across a lab to turn on a light.

Martin Soltau, the company’s founder, told Sky News in an exclusive interview: “This is a world first. You can get constant energy all the time.

“This is really going to have a substantial impact on our future energy systems.”

Solar panels capture 13 times more energy in space than they do on the ground because the light intensity is higher and there’s no atmosphere, clouds or night.

Even though some energy would be lost by the time it is beamed back to Earth and connected to the electricity grid, it would still far outstrip solar generation on the ground.

But it’s the production of power around the clock that makes space-based solar energy so attractive for providing a “baseload” to back up ground-based renewables.

Currently, nuclear energy and gas turbines provide the baseload for the grid but produce radioactive waste or carbon dioxide respectively.

“This is why the government is so excited by the prospect of space-based solar power,” said Mr Soltau.

“Not only is it very capable in that it’s helping to make the whole energy system work more effectively, but the cost (of electricity) is about quarter of that from nuclear.”
. . .
Dr Jovana Radulovic, an independent energy expert based at the University of Portsmouth, believes space based solar power will play a big part in meeting future electricity needs.

But more evidence is needed to back claims that it has a low carbon footprint despite multiple rocket launches.

“The carbon emissions are equivalent to that of renewables,” she said. “But that doesn’t take into account potential pollution effects in the upper atmosphere.

“I think if we get more clarity on that and we can genuinely prove that space-based solar power is cleaner than some of the current alternatives, that would definitely make it more popular.”

Full article here.
– – –
Image: SpaceX’s Starship (credit: Sky News)