Next-Generation Energy Alternative 'Space Power Plant'... Realized in 10 Years [Reading Science]

UK Forms R&D Network Last Year, Aiming to Complete Phase 1 Development by 2035
Major Space Powers Like the US, China, and Japan Also Target Realization Between 2030 and 2040
Korea Developing Key Core Technologies

Conceptual diagram of NASA's space solar power station.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Space solar power generation is emerging as the next-generation alternative energy to overcome climate crises such as global warming.

According to space-specialized media Space.com on the 12th, the UK launched the "UK Space Energy Initiative" last year for research and development of space solar power plants, involving over 50 companies and research organizations including aerospace company Airbus, the University of Cambridge, and satellite manufacturer SSTL, and has begun full-scale R&D. The name "CASSIOPeiA (Constant Aperture, Solid-State, Integrated, Orbital Phased Array)" has already been designated by a British engineering company called International Electric Company. To complete this ultra-large solar power module, it is expected that a space launch vehicle of a scale similar to the Starship currently being developed by the US company SpaceX will need to transport cargo about 300 times. It will be installed in geostationary orbit (approximately 36,000 km), where it can always face the sun.

They see space solar power generation as more cost-effective compared to other renewable energy sources to achieve carbon neutrality, which is being pursued to stop global warming by 2050. Relatedly, on the 27th of last month, Martin Soltau, chairman of the UK Space Energy Initiative, said in a speech at a conference held in London, "All the technologies needed to build a space solar power plant have already been developed," adding, "The only issue is the scope and scale of the project."

A space solar power plant is a concept where a satellite equipped with a huge solar power generation device is placed in geostationary orbit, and the generated direct current electricity is converted into microwaves using a wireless radio frequency power amplifier and transmitted. The principle of power generation is the same as terrestrial solar power generation. However, efficiency is expected to be at least 13 times higher than on Earth for the same size solar power pad because there is no atmospheric interference. Especially on Earth, power production fluctuates drastically due to day and night and weather, causing serious intermittency problems, but in space, steady production is possible. This means there is no need for large-scale energy storage systems (ESS), and electricity can be produced and supplied regardless of weather. This is highlighted as an important alternative since no renewable energy technology devised on Earth so far can fully meet humanity’s total power demand.

In the UK’s case, currently 40% of power demand is met by renewable energy, but to prevent global warming, more than three times that amount of clean energy will be needed over the next 30 years. If all this energy were to be supplied by offshore wind power, which is the mainstream of current renewable energy, the entire coastline of mainland UK would need to be surrounded by a 10 km-wide cluster of turbines. To receive power generated by space solar power, only a large antenna about 7 to 13 km wide is required. This is only about 40% of the land area needed to install a new ground-based solar power plant producing the same amount of electricity.

Major space powers such as the US, China, and Japan are also conducting R&D to install space solar power plants between the 2030s and 2040s. NASA abandoned the project in the 1970s due to economic reasons but restarted research and development in the 2000s and plans to commercialize it in the 2040s. Japan also began research in the 2000s and aims for commercialization in the 2030s. China recently developed the large rocket Chang Zheng 9 to build space solar power plants and aims to operate gigawatt-class large space power plants after the 2030s. South Korea has been developing core technologies centered on government-funded research institutes since 2017. The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute developed a 10 kW-class long-distance wireless power transmission technology in 2020 and is conducting outdoor experiments.