Russia’s murderous rampage through Ukraine has sent EU nations scrambling in a race to cut energy ties with the rogue nation, and it looks like space solar power will be part of the plan. Among other developments, the US Air Force is readying an update on its research into the topic, and earlier this month UK science minister George Freeman expressed support for orbiting solar harvesting platforms that beam solar energy down to Earth anywhere, any time.
At this writing, Russia seems intent on murdering as many people in Ukraine as it can. Millions are fleeing and in need of assistance. To help refugees from that conflict and others, contact the International Rescue Committee or other reliable aid organizations.
Many Reasons For Space Solar Power
The idea of space solar power seemed a little off the wall when it first sailed across the CleanTechnica radar in 2013, but the very next year the US Naval Research Laboratory weighed in with this observation:
“What if you could capture solar power in space, then send it down to Earth? What if you could launch the hundreds of modules for such a satellite, then use robots to assemble the entire array in space? You could power a military installation, a city — even on a cloudy day, even at night,” the lab enthused.
If you caught that thing about nonstop solar energy, that’s part of the attraction. Another part is avoiding land use conflicts with nature conservation and food supply here on Earth, and yet another part is electrifying communities and operations without having to build new transmission lines or energy storage infrastructure.
Emergency response could also come into play, as orbiting solar harvesters could continue working throughout storms and other catastrophes, and if you can think of any more reasons drop us a note in the comment thread.
US Air Force Hearts Space Solar Power
In 2015, the California Institute of Technology picked up the space solar power ball and ran with it, with a $17.5 million assist from Northrup Grumman to establish something called the Space Solar Power Initiative. That was apparently supplanted by the Space Solar Power Project, funded through an anonymous $100 million donation from an individual who turned out to be Donald Bren, chairman of Irvine Company.
CalTech announced Bren’s contribution last year, by way of providing an update on the project.
“Our research solves the fundamental challenges associated with implementing space solar by integrating ultralight and shape accurate structures with high efficiency photovoltaics and large scale phased array power transmission into a two dimensional scalable, deployable spacecraft,” CalTech observed.
As of last year, the project was on track to launch a 6×6-foot prototype-phase test for the solar power generators and radio frequency wireless power transfer.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force has been hot on the trail. By 2020 the Air Force Research Laboratory was partnering …….