In the famous American sci-fi drama Star Trek, the physicist Freeman Dyson describes a scene in which a starship traveling in the Galaxy discovers an extremely advanced civilized society where people are on their own planet’s space. It was covered with solar panels, captured almost all the energy released by the stars, and solved the planet's energy problems. However, this scientific fantasy will soon become a reality.
PG&E has recently announced that it will cooperate with SolarEnCorp, a company that claims to be able to effectively ingest energy in space, and purchase electricity from it. As a result, they took the first step in the development of solar energy in outer space. They set up solar panels on the outer orbit around the Earth, and then converted the generated electrical energy into radio waves and transmitted it back to Earth. The power reserve station on the ground then Receiving, converted into electricity and supplied to millions of households.
Although spacecraft and satellites have often used solar panels to provide energy, the use of solar energy in outer space is nothing new. However, the implementation of this project is the first time humans have tried to use solar energy in space to solve the energy problem of the Earth. In the near future, space solar power stations will be born. The project intends to provide 200 megawatts of electricity by 2016 and meet the electricity needs of 250,000 households within 15 years. If it goes well, the energy-smart technology in the science fiction TV drama can come true in 7 years.
The prospect is considerable and costly
In fact, the concept of space solar power stations is not currently proposed. Since the 1960s, NASA and the Pentagon have been exploring the idea of ​​building space-based solar power stations around the earth. Some private-sector researchers are also looking for ways to use space solar energy. In the late 1960s, the physicist Dr. Peter Glaser proposed the idea of ​​establishing a space-based solar system in an orbit that is invariant to the earth.
Today's plan is very similar to the concept 40 years ago. It first launched a solar satellite to orbit 22,000 miles (35,400 kilometers) from the equator and stay relatively unchanged from the earth. The solar panels will be several miles wide and the system will convert the solar energy into electricity after it is collected, and then turn it into radio waves to return to Earth. Ground receiving stations are to be built on the outskirts of Fresno, California.
The reason why research on the use of space for solar power generation has attracted human attention for several decades is because it does have a lot of irreplaceable benefits. If it can be developed on a large scale, it may really be able to permanently solve human problems as described in the science fiction TV series. Energy issues. First of all, the solar panels in space have no obstruction from the atmosphere, no interference, and they receive 8-10 times the intensity of sunlight on the earth and are cleaner. Secondly, it can continuously receive sunlight 24 hours a day, solving the problem of intermittent solar power generation and poor stability. In the end, the "land" of space is free. Moreover, at present, the international community has no restrictions or legal restrictions on the development of space solar energy. Therefore, this also gives space solar a huge space for development.
According to a rough estimate by Pacific Gas and Power Company, the project needs to spend about 2 billion, mainly for the construction and launch of satellites for the Earth's solar energy base. Daniel Carmen, professor of energy and resources at the University of California, Berkeley, believes that the most serious challenge facing solar energy in space is the cost of implementation, especially at the time of the current global economic recession. This plan requires billions of dollars of capital investment, far higher than the $100 million to $200 million needed for other renewable energy projects of the same size.
Gary En, CEO of SolarEn, is confident that the project will be completed. He said that the company has the ability to supply 1.2 billion to 4.8 billion watts of electricity and can realize the commercialization of power supply in the next seven years. The price of solar energy for space can also be compared with other renewable energy prices. Flat. The technology used today is based on the technology used by current communications satellites, which is "very mature." This plan is not a technical problem. PG&E spokesperson Jonathan Marshall said: "SolarEn is very likely to realize this dream." If it is possible to realize the commercialization of space solar power supply, the price of electricity will become cheaper and cheaper. Conquering the use of space for solar power generation will be a qualitative leap for mankind to solve the energy problem.
Japan is also targeting the space solar market
Coincidentally, the Japan Aerospace Development Center (JAXA) is also working on a similar space solar power system (SSPS), which is expected to start by 2030. The basic principle is the same as in the United States, but Japanese scientists do not use radio waves to transmit energy. They chose microwaves (microwaves are shorter than radio waves and can only travel straight), attempting to transmit at microwave frequencies of 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz. This technology has been applied to industrial and medical equipment in Japan. At the research base in Hokkaido, Japanese scientists conducted an experiment to receive microwaves in space using a 2.4-meter-diameter instrument. The ultimate goal of JAXA is to establish a ground receiving station of about 3 square kilometers, to produce 1 million kilowatts of electricity, and to supply 500,000 households.
Solar power in space is also not perfect. High-intensity radiation is likely to bring about another environmental pollution problem. However, supporters believe that as long as the area of ​​the ground solar receiving station is large enough, it will not cause harm to humans, animals and plants. Therefore, the ground receiving station should be selected in sparsely populated areas with a large area, and there must also be an appropriate power transmission system.
Although it seems that these ideas are somewhat impractical, the success of any project in the United States or Japan means a major breakthrough in the field of renewable energy.
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