Solar Power from Outer Space: Microwaves and Frickin’ Lasers
In order to meet our world’s rising energy needs, and to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, some ideas that seem right out of a science fiction novel are picking up steam with start-ups and investors. But does using satellites for energy production really make sense financially or environmentally?
Space Based Solar Power (SBSP) is an idea first voiced by scientist Dr. Peter Glaser over 40 years ago, and during times of high energy costs or crises in fossil fuel supplies, the idea keeps rearing its head. The premise is that large photovoltaic arrays can be assembled in a geosynchronous orbit at 22,000 miles above the Earth, generating electricity that can then be transmitted via microwave or lasers to Earth.
On the positive side of SBSP, power can be produced 24 hours a day, regardless of the time of year, and the strength of the solar power in space is 6 to 8 times that on the surface of the planet. The drawbacks are the physical logistics and extreme expense of launching all of the materials into orbit, and the lack of an efficient, scalable system for getting the energy to Earth.
The advantages of Space Based Solar Power, according to the National Space Society :
* Unlike oil, gas, ethanol, and coal plants, space solar power does not emit greenhouse gases.
* Unlike coal and nuclear plants, space solar power does not compete for or depend upon increasingly scarce fresh water resources.
* Unlike bio-ethanol or bio-diesel, space solar power does not compete for increasingly valuable farm land or depend on natural-gas-derived fertilizer. Food can continue to be a major export instead of a fuel provider.
* Unlike nuclear power plants, space solar power will not produce hazardous waste, which needs to be stored and guarded for hundreds of years.
* Unlike terrestrial solar and wind power plants, space solar power is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in huge quantities. It works regardless of cloud cover, daylight, or wind speed.
* Unlike nuclear power plants, space solar power does not provide easy targets for terrorists.
* Unlike coal and nuclear fuels, space solar power does not require environmentally problematic mining operations.
* Space solar power will provide true energy independence for the nations that develop it, eliminating a major source of national competition for limited Earth-based energy resources.
* Space solar power will not require dependence on unstable or hostile foreign oil providers to meet energy needs, enabling us to expend resources in other ways.
* Space solar power can be exported to virtually any place in the world, and its energy can be converted for local needs — such as manufacture of methanol for use in places like rural India where there are no electric power grids. Space solar power can also be used for desalination of sea water.
* Space solar power can take advantage of our current and historic investment in aerospace expertise to expand employment opportunities in solving the difficult problems of energy security and climate change.
* Space solar power can provide a market large enough to develop the low-cost space transportation system that is required for its deployment. This, in turn, will also bring the resources of the solar system within economic reach.
Disadvantages of Space Solar Power
* High development cost. Yes, space solar power development costs will be very large, although much smaller than American military presence in the Persian Gulf or the costs of global warming, climate change, or carbon sequestration. The cost of space solar power development always needs to be compared to the cost of not developing space solar power.
A Washington company, PowerSat, plans to use a group of up to 300 satellites which then send the energy to a single satellite for transmission to Earth. PowerSat plans to be able to implement the system within 10 years. Several other firms, Space Energy and Solaren, are working toward their own systems as well.
As a layman, I have to wonder if the billions (trillions, maybe?) that will be invested to harvest and transmit renewable energy from solar panels on satellites in space wouldn’t be better spent implementing conservation efforts and developing Earth-based clean energy sources.
What happens when something needs repairing or adjusting in space? What’s the price of a service call to a solar power system based in space? (And are those frickin’ lasers safe for us pedestrians?)
By Derek Markham | twilightearth
Here is a logical space based power system that won't break the bank, is reliable, and produces high quality energy back to Earth.
http://nlspropulsion.net/Documents/MPTS_June_2009_wdrawing.pdf
grey eminence
30 Jul 09 at 5:20 pm