Utility Power Beamed from Space: New Experiment Succeeds
Background
For several years engineers and scientists have been developing the means to beam utility electric power from space to earth. The method is to have massive arrays of solar panels floating in space 36,000 miles above the earth, converting the sun’s rays into power and beaming it to earth as microwaves. The receiving station on earth converts the microwaves back to power and supplies it to nearby areas. This diagram sums it up:
Scientists say that by the year 2030 these orbiting power plants will be a reality. Utilities would have mothballed fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants and built “spacepower” orbiting plants as well as receiving stations.
Today
So where are we on the development map in 2015, one may ask. A few days ago, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced that it had transmitted 10 kilowatts of power through the air to a receiver 500 meters away using microwaves. This is more than any wireless power transmission done earlier and is definitely progress. It’s the state of the art.
Tomorrow
Power beamed from space will make the following exciting scenarios possible:
- No polluting power plants and maybe less global warming consequently
- Homes not accessible by road (and therefore by an existing grid) using spacepower with ease, just like homes not accessible by cable TV use satellite dishes
- Electric vehicles and mobile phones charging directly from space
Here and Now
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More Reading
An overview of space-based solar power (from the private company Japan Space Systems)
Press release from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries about the experiment described above
A detailed technical discussion on spacepower development as seen on Gizmag.com.
