Beam me down: can solar power from space help solve our energy needs?

 

        

      Overview

     

    The need to transition to renewable energy is accelerating quickly due to climate change. Nearly the entire globe is being impacted, and if we don't quickly devise novel solutions to abandon fossil fuels, Earth will become uninhabitable for humans.

What if we could produce more solar electricity in space? Solar panels are already one of our best renewable alternatives, but they take up a lot of space on Earth.

That is not as novel idea as you may believe; in fact, the concept was initially advanced in 1968 by eminent space scientist Peter Glaser.

What's on this page?

• 01 Are solar panels present in space?
• 02 Does solar power perform better in orbit?
• 03 How can solar cells in orbit power the planet?
• 04 solar panels in space:  advantages and disadvantages
• 05 What role will solar energy in space play in the future?
• 06 Conclusion

    There are already solar panels in orbit, but they are only on some few satellites and the International Space Station (ISS).

As the necessary technology hasn't developed to the point where it would be worth it, there are no space-based solar panels that can transmit electricity to Earth.

The concept is sound, however it would be a huge waste of time and money due to the high cost and lack of adequate precision equipment.

Are any nations preparing to launch solar panels into orbit?

   The UK government released a research in 2021 that described the logistics of installing solar panels in space and came to the conclusion that it is a workable method of producing electricity in the future. Also, it announced plans to commission fresh research into solar energy from space in 2020, demonstrating the government's interest in this form of energy production.

Former UK science minister George Freeman stated in 2022 that the government was seriously considering a £16 billion proposal to construct a solar power station.China and the US, both of which have specific programs for space-based solar power, are two other nations looking into the idea.

China claims that it will produce one megawatt from the technology by 2030 and already has a strategy for space-based solar power. This equates to 8,760 megawatt hours (mWh) annually, or 3,020 UK households, or 24 mWh every day in space.China wants to have the first fully operational space-based solar plant by the year 2050.Other significant nations investigating solar panels in space include Japan, India, and Russia

  

Solar panels are much more efficient in space than they are on Earth because they can utilize the sun's near-constant light 

Solar panels can only be in the Earth's shadow for a maximum of 72 minutes, and even that is exceptional because there are no night and day cycles in space.

This means that they can produce electricity for 99% of the year without encountering any of the challenges solar panels encounter on Earth, like as clouds, dust, or temperatures that would reduce efficiency.

Solar panels on Earth can lose up to 55% of solar energy via the atmosphere, even on a clear, sunny day. Since there is no atmosphere in space, sunlight strikes solar panels in orbit unfiltered.

Because of factors like high-energy particles and space debris, solar panels in space can degrade up to eight times more quickly than solar panels on Earth.

Gallium arsenide, rather than silicon, is the primary component of solar panels used in space. In contrast to the standard 18–23% rating of the most efficient silicon-based panels, this material boasts a 34% efficiency rating.

Gallium arsenide, however, is much harder to find than silicon. Just 17 parts per million, or 0.0017%, of gallium arsenide are thought to be present in the earth's crust.

In contrast, silicon is much less expensive because it takes up a whopping 27.7% of the Earth's crust.

It is almost guaranteed that silicon will make up the majority of space-based solar panels due to the rarity of gallium arsenide.

Space-based solar panels may directly beam energy to ground-based power stations, which can then supply electricity to people on Earth.

That sounds like science fiction, but it’s exactly how it’ll work — though we haven’t yet settled on a single solution.

One idea involves massive mirrors that would aim as much light as possible at space-based solar panels. The sunlight would be converted by the solar panels into electricity, which would then be transmitted as a laser or microwave beam to a specially constructed power station on the surface of the Earth. This power plant will release electricity as soon as it is received from space, and it will use a number of large-capacity solar batteries to store any extra energy for later use.

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
much more effective than solar panels on the ground	One kilogram of spacecraft costs £7,716to launch into orbit.
can continuously produce power	The logistics of beaming power to Earth are difficult.
Solar panels mounted in space have no emissions.	Space maintenance is exceedingly challenging.
Depending on the necessity, electricity can be instantly directed at various locations on Earth.	Solar panels on Earth degrade about eight times than those in space.

Pace-based solar energy will function and, when scaled up, will offer us nearly limitless energy. But it's also really difficult. Solar panel producers must make significant strides to lighten their products so that launching them into space is less expensive. Thin-film solar panel advancements will assist with this. Another challenging issue is satellite stability because we are yet unable to maintain an accurate enough beam to provide constant power. We cannot have a beam that sways if space-based solar power is to be a real option.

Although creative minds are already thinking outside the box with concepts like 3D printing solar cells into enormous, folding solar sails, building the infrastructure in space is still a very challenging task.

Theoretically, using a 3D printer on board the International Space Station, you could build solar power plants fully in orbit. Even then, though, it remains to be seen whether we will have enough time to create the necessary technologies before the effects of climate change become too severe.

Working on solutions that don't include constructing enormously complicated structures in space could be preferable, especially given the extremely high emissions associated with flying rockets. A sufficient amount of energy can also be produced on Earth from renewable resources. According to US government data, installing solar panels on just 22,000 square miles of land—roughly the size of Lake Michigan—would be sufficient to power the entire country.

According to study by The Eco Experts, utilising just 6.2% of the UK's marine territory for wind energy would be sufficient to meet the country's population's energy needs.

Solar power from space is an intriguing idea that has the potential to solve many of Earth's energy issues. While it is challenging enough to develop the infrastructure on the earth, let alone in space, the primary obstacles at this time are cost and feasibility.

Time is also not on our favor; the climate crisis has brought to light the urgent need for green technologies, but space-based solar power at the scale we want is decades away. Instead, we should put more effort into reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and increasing the usage of renewable energy sources.

SPARKSOUT

Author: Yumn Zamil

Reference: (Is Space-Based Solar Power Our Future? (2023) | GreenMatch, n.d.)

Date: 20/3/2023

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