The idea of beaming solar power down to Earth from orbiting solar farms is an alluring one. Space solar projects could deliver clean kilowatts 24/7, anywhere on Earth, any time, regardless of the weather — if they happen. Nevertheless, the technology pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the economic case is beginning to materialize, too.The key issue for orbiting photovoltaic systems is the cost of the solar panels.
The study gathered five years of flight data for four prototype cells. The thinly layered cells showed no signs of peeling or delaminating throughout the 30,000-orbit flight, which was a key test. Electrical systems also held up well. The payoff could be huge. “Sunlight is on average more than ten times as intense at the top of the atmosphere as it is down at the surface of the Earth,” ESA explains, “And up at a sufficiently high orbit sunlight would be available on a continuous basis, to capture all the sunlight available, able to be beamed to receiving stations across the planet, wherever it is needed.”
That’s the bad news. The good news is that launch costs have come down since construction on the International Space Station began in earnest, back in 1998. Last summer NASA also teased the idea of manufacturing, which could also somehow come into play. If you have any thoughts about that, drop us a note on the comment thread.Another aspect of the economic case for space-based solar is the attraction of avoiding the cost of major new electricity transmission projects on Earth.