Essay by Eric Worrall
“… we expect we will construct and fee a 2GW energy station yearly. …”
Area-based solar energy: The way it works, and why it’s being thought of now
ABC Science / By expertise reporter James Purtill
It’s an concept that sprang from mid-century science fiction and was being critically thought of within the Seventies, within the golden years of area flight.
Key factors:
- Area-based solar energy entails beaming clear power to Earth from orbital photo voltaic farms
- If it really works, it might provide non-intermittent renewable electrical energy
- However the expertise is unproven and will find yourself costing greater than projected
Area-based solar energy (SBSP) was ultimately dismissed as too costly, and consigned to the attic of Area Age fantasies, together with lunar bases and ray weapons.
Now, it’s again. Area businesses are returning to the concept of setting up huge orbital arrays of photo voltaic panels, then beaming the ability to Earth by way of microwaves.
Placing photo voltaic panels in area could seem pointless (when there’s nonetheless room on our roofs), however this imaginative and prescient of the longer term has highly effective backers.
Tens of millions of {dollars} are being ploughed into the idea of huge photovoltaic “islands within the sky”.
…
Martin Soltau is an analyst at Frazer-Nash Consultancy and co-chair of the UK’s Area Vitality Initiative, which is a consortium of corporations, universities and authorities serving to to develop SBSP.
A solar energy station on the “gigawatt scale” is achievable inside 12 years, he says.
“After that … we expect we will construct and fee a 2GW energy station yearly.“
…
A value-benefit evaluation commissioned by the ESA calculated the common value of electrical energy technology by SPSP over the lifetime of a generator unit, together with building, upkeep and decommissioning.
It arrived at a determine of 0.038-0.106 euros per kilowatt-hour by 2045 ($0.059-$0.16 per kWh).
By comparability, Dr White says, ground-based photo voltaic has a value of round 0.03 euros per kWh — and falling.
The determine doesn’t take into consideration the necessity for storage, however “the price of storage can be coming down quickly.”
…
Learn extra: https://www.abc.web.au/information/science/2022-12-20/space-based-solar-power-europe-funding-research/101733558
Dr. White’s squirming over the price of terrestrial photo voltaic + power storage is amusing.
The very fact area primarily based photo voltaic is outwardly being critically thought of, and the emphasis on the actual fact area primarily based photo voltaic isn’t climate dependent, for my part is a uncommon glimpse of the dire state of the terrestrial inexperienced power push.
Even a few of our extra numerically challenged inexperienced politicians are beginning to realise that renewables are extra hype than potential, that the intermittency and unreliability of terrestrial renewable power is a showstopper.
After all, area primarily based photo voltaic isn’t with out its issues. Area experiences its personal “climate”, within the type of photo voltaic storms, blasts of radiation which may injury fragile electronics.
Low Earth orbit is suffused with corrosive monatomic oxygen blasted off the highest of the Earth’s ambiance by photo voltaic radiation. Chemical erosion could also be much less of a problem if numerous cash is spent to spice up the solar energy satellites into geostationary orbits, however the radiation may be worse in increased orbits. Geostationary orbit (22,236 miles) is contained in the Van Allen radiation belt (400-36,040 miles), a area of area the place the Earth’s magnetic area traps energetic, electrically charged radiation which may wreak havoc on delicate electronics.
