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This is false, if your SBSP conversion efficiency on the ground is better than solar panels on the ground then you will add less energy to earth by collecting t
by tectonic 2y ago
This is false, if your SBSP conversion efficiency on the ground is better than solar panels on the ground then you will add less energy to earth by collecting the power in space and transmitting it to the ground then by changing the reflective albedo of desert to a very nonreflective material like solar panels.
- pfdietz 2y agoHmm. If your PV has efficiency > the albedo of the ground it covers, it will be better than SBSP, even if the rectenna is 100% efficient (assuming the emissivity of the PV is at least as good as that of the desert in the far IR). This assumes the rectenna has the same optical properties as the ground it covers. One could improve the PV by making it highly reflective in the near IR at wavelengths below the bandgap of the cells, while still being highly emissive at the longer wavelengths where it will radiate heat.