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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: 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.