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Plan to beam solar energy from space
- Schroedingersat 4y agoCan we just let this idea die already? Your collector has to be just as big as a solar array if power density is low enough to be harmless, you're using enough energy for months of backup just to launch it, losses over tens of thousands of km mean there's not really any net power benefit, so it comes down to whether space launch, the shorter life due to radiation and meteors, paying extra for ultra light panels and having to maintain it in space is cheaper than a battery.
- timthorn 4y agoExpected transmission losses through the atmosphere are less than 2%. The efficiency of the cells above the atmosphere is significantly higher than a terrestrial solar farm - the power economics look to stack up. I've posted this before, but more detail in this feasibility study: https://www.fnc.co.uk/media/qkleyd5d/fnc-004456-51057r-phase-1-engineering-feasibility-issue-1-0.pdf https://www.fnc.co.uk/media/qkleyd5d/fnc-004456-51057r-phase...
- Schroedingersat 4y agoI'm actually kinda shocked that attenuation is that low. There's still all the conversion losses and beam spreading though, and skimming that paper it seems to be making some fairly optimistic assumptions about PV efficiency, cost, and weight.
- xrayarx 4y agoFrazer-Nash did a few studies: https://www.fnc.co.uk/discover-frazer-nash/news/frazer-nash-report-for-uk-government-shows-feasibility-of-space-solar-power/ https://www.fnc.co.uk/discover-frazer-nash/news/frazer-nash-...