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from the what-could-possibly-go-wrong-with-a-gigawatt-laser-in-space? dept.
China wants to put a solar farm in space by 2025
According to China's state-backed Science and Technology Daily, Chinese scientists plan to build and launch small power stations into the stratosphere between 2021 and 2025, upgrading to a megawatt-level station in 2030 and a gigawatt-level facility high above the earth before 2050. Without atmospheric interference or night-time loss of sunlight, these space-based solar farms could provide an inexhaustible source of clean energy. The China Academy of Space Technology Corporation claims such a set-up could "reliably supply energy 99 per cent of the time, at six-times the intensity" of solar installations on earth.
China's proposal suggests converting solar energy into electricity in space, before beaming back to Earth using a microwave or laser and feeding into the grid via a ground receiving system.
Also at the Sydney Morning Herald.
See also: China Wants to Build the First Power Station in Space
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Tuesday February 19 2019, @10:34AM (7 children)
Efficiency is not too bad: you convert the electricity to microwaves (radio waves), which is a pretty natural conversion. You then beam them to a huge antenna on the earth. The antenna itself can be fairly sparse - a bunch of wires strung up over a few square kilometers. We know how to do efficient radio reception, and that's all this really is. It's also surprisingly safe. People think "microwaves, you'll cook everything". But: Suppose you plan your antenna to cover an area 10km x 10km. And you beam down 1 GW of power to that array. That gives you a power density of 10 watts/square-meter. That's nothing - normal sunlight is 100x as strong.
The technology isn't difficult - I remember reading an essay by Jerry Pournelle 30 years or more ago, where he desribed this kind of system.. The challenge is getting all that equipment up in space.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 19 2019, @10:54AM (1 child)
That's an extremely large antenna; it would probably be terribly expensive to build. Now reduce the area to 1kmx1km (still huge), and the intensity goes up 100-fold.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday February 19 2019, @05:58PM
IIUC, when you reduce the area, you decrease the efficiency. Optimally I think you want the wires of the antenna to be 1/2 or 1/4 wavelength apart. And to be 1/2 or a full wavelength in length, but it's been a long time since I even considered the matter, and I was never an expert. (I know that capacitors can be used to tune the antenna somewhat, and that special components can affect the size needed...see pocket AM radios.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday February 19 2019, @11:28AM (4 children)
If Sunlight is 100x, or 100 times, as strong -- can they come up with some way to put Solar Panel on the ground? Where it will take up much less space than that HUGE Antenna. Or, what about Clean Coal? Why not build a Clean Coal plant, very reliable, their Energy Grid will love it. And build Condos on the land they save. Or rent that land to Farmers. No bird zapping beam!!!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 19 2019, @01:04PM (3 children)
hey why don't we burn the coal in space, and then beam down the power? no carbon emissions clouding the atmosphere! and if you burn the coal on the moon, you can make a carbon atmosphere and make plants grow!
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday February 19 2019, @02:02PM
Can we terraform the Moon with sulfur hexafluoride?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Redundant) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday February 19 2019, @03:04PM
Interesting thoughts. China grew a plant on the Moon. But it died when night came -- much too cold there at night. Need some of that good old Global Warming!!
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Tuesday February 19 2019, @04:40PM
Because there's no oxidizer there.
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