The the ZhuRi's ground verification facility on the south campus of Xidian University in Xi'an (Photo: AFP/Xinhua/Xidian University)
Zoltán Pataki
24/01/2024 11:58
In short, harvesting the sun’s energy is achieved by attaching solar panels to satellites flying 36,000 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, without interference from the atmosphere, and in constant sunlight. This energy is then converted into microwaves, which are beamed through the atmosphere to a receiving antenna, where they are reconverted into electricity to be distributed through the energy grid.
Researchers in China, the US, the UK, Japan as well as South Korea and Europe are all studying its feasibility, with a view to possibly launching experiments into space before the end of the decade. China now leads the world in most non-hydrocarbon-based energy production, including wind, solar, hydropower and nuclear power, as well as battery and EV production. And the country is eyeing completing a gigawatt-level space-based power station. China’s ZhuRi programme – translated as “chase the sun” – has plans to put a pilot power plant into orbit generating 20 megawatts of power by 2035. Construction of an early experimental space power plant has begun in the inland city of Chongqing. Chinese scientists first planned to build and launch small to medium-sized solar power stations to be launched into the stratosphere to generate electricity until 2025. The next step will be a Megawatt-level space solar power station, slated for construction in 2030. This means China is expected to become the first country to build a space solar power station with practical value.
Besides China, Japan is another Asian country that is leading in research in this field. In the 1980s, it was the first nation in the world to transmit power via microwaves in space successfully. Experiments have been ongoing ever since, with the aim of achieving super-distance wireless power transmission by the middle of the decade. However, the long-term safety impact of microwave radiation from a space power station on the atmosphere and Earth’s ecology would also need to be studied, the researchers said.
Of course, there are tremendous technical challenges to be overcome, including the manufacturing of a power station; one satellite is expected to be 1000 tonnes. For comparison, the biggest man-made object in space now, the International Space Station (ISS), is “only” 400 tons. Researchers are examining whether a space factory using robots and 3D printing technology could construct a power station in space to overcome the problem of launching heavy structures from Earth. Other solutions can be the use of reusable rockets, just like Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s rockets or the Chinese Space Epoch’s rockets.
In addition, space-based solar power not only helps overcome the problems of polluting fossil fuels on Earth but also provides an energy supply. A solar power station could assist deep space exploration programs by providing an energy supply. This could open a new chapter in geopolitical competition as well.
The author is a foreign policy journalist
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