NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the British government are dusting off a decades old idea to beam space-based solar energy to Earth from an array of orbiting satellites beaming power by laser or microwave to help reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and other nations including China, Japan, and South Korea are doing the same.
Once dismissed as technically impossible and far too expensive even if the technology existed, space-based solar power (SBSP) is again being assessed as a potential source of limitless clean energy as public and private sectors in space-faring nations are now seriously considering developing their own SBSP systems.
The UK government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy commissioned a study by the UK-based Frazer-Nash Consultancy that was released in September 2021. Entitled Space Based Solar Power—De-Risking the Pathway to Net Zero, the study identified the following as drivers in renewed interest in SBSP.
- A new political will exists now as countries seek diverse technologies to decarbonize their economies and reach net zero by 2050.
- The costs of commercial space launches have dropped dramatically as private companies enter the market.
- New highly modular solid-state solar-power satellite designs such as SPS-Alpha and CASSIOPeiA have been conceived for high-volume commercial manufacture. This also lowers costs.
- Technologies required to make SBSP a reality have matured. These include high-concentration solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, wireless power transmission, and space robotics.
- Countries view their ability to provide unlimited affordable energy from space to any point on the planet as a way to leverage global influence, evidenced by the fact that not only Britain and Europe have recently renewed their interest but also the US, China, Japan, and South Korea.
The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) measuring average net present cost of electricity generation over the lifetime of a plant commissioned in 2040 based on UK Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy projections.
Source: Space-Based Solar Power—De-Risking the Pathway to Net Zero.
At the end of May, Nikolai Joseph, a policy analyst for NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy, told the International Space Development Conference of the US National Space Society that NASA is re-evaluating the viability of SBSP after having abandoned the concept as unworkable decades ago.
Like the UK government, NASA has commissioned its own study to revisit past concepts for collecting solar energy in space and beaming it to earth to feed as electricity into local power grids. The study will compare Earth-based power systems and assess costs and policy issues related to implementing the concept, according to the industry media SpaceNews.
Studies that found costs prohibitive date as far back as the 1970s. Joseph told the conference that as part of its reboot, NASA has discussed SBSP with the US Space Force and other “technical agencies.” NASA plans to complete its study to present …….
Source: https://jpt.spe.org/technology-reboot-to-beam-space-based-solar-power-to-earth