Can solar energy be transferred from space? Everything indicates yes. No wonder, there are already companies and governments working to make this happen one day.
Martin Soltau, one of the chairs of the SEI (Space Energy Initiative), said the world could start receiving solar energy via microwaves from 2035 – just over 12 years ago.
The organisation, which includes researchers from UK universities and industries, is working on the project CassiopeiaIt is an initiative to deploy several satellites in high orbit around the Earth.
These systems must harvest solar energy and send it to the planet. Expectations are high. “In theory, it could supply the world with all the energy by 2050,” Soltau said. BBC.
According to him, there is enough space in orbit for solar satellites. Moreover, the energy supply from the sun is practically endless.
“The narrow band around the Earth’s geostationary orbit receives more than 100 times the amount of energy each year than all of humanity is expected to use in 2050,” he said.
In July, the British government announce 3 million pounds – roughly 17.7 million Brazilian reals at current exchange rates – to fund space solar projects. In September, entities in China also released its programs to make the sector viable.
The US Air Force Research Laboratory is also developing core technologies for the system.
The idea is to create equipment that improves the efficiency of solar cells, converts solar frequencies into radio and reduces temperature fluctuations in satellite components — all to create more stable structures.
How it works?
Sending solar energy from space to Earth might not be as complicated as you think — as long as you have the right technologies.
When in orbit, satellites collect solar energy and then convert it into high-frequency radio waves. These microwaves are radiated to a rectifier antenna on the ground, which converts them into electricity.
One by one, the satellites are estimated to provide up to 2 gigawatts (gigawatts) of energy. In comparison, it is as if each of them has the power of a nuclear power plant. This is because sunlight on Earth spreads through the atmosphere. In space, there is no such interference from sunlight.
Tests conducted so far – mostly on solid ground – have shown that microwaves are effective and safe for humans and animals. They are like wifi. “Its intensity is low, about a quarter of the intensity of the midday sun,” Soltau explained.
Issues to be resolved
But there is still doubt. Experts wonder whether launching large numbers of solar panels into space wouldn’t be too expensive or generate too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
According to Soltau, the economic scenario of climate transition technologies has improved in recent years. “The cost of launching is down 90% and is still going down, and that changed the game for the economy,” he says.
“There have been real advances in the design of solar satellites, so they are much more modular, which provides flexibility and lowers production costs. We also have real advances in robotics and autonomous systems.”
Furthermore, an environmental analysis by the University of Strathclyde in Scotland concluded that the carbon footprint of these projects could be less than half the Earth’s solar footprint – roughly 24 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.
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