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Published on March 11, 2019 | by Steve Hanley
March 11, 2019 by Steve Hanley
Chinese scientists build new research facility in southwest China's Chongqing city to determine if solar energy generated by satellites in space can be transmitted to ground using micro to provide electrical power to the earthlings below. according to China Daily, The 33-acre facility will last about two years and will initially be financed by a $ 15 million investment provided by the city's Bishan District.
Credit: NASA / Artemis Innovation Management Solutions LLC
In theory, satellites equipped with solar panels would be placed in orbit above the Earth. They would then be assembled in a huge network of solar collectors that would project electricity to Earth 24 hours a day. Think of it as a giant wireless EV charger in the sky. One of the problems is that current technology limits the transmission of electricity by microwaves to about 100 meters. Another problem is the focus of microwave energy so that it does not turn the Earth into a giant microwave oven.
Xie Gengxin, deputy director of the Chongqing Integrated Research Institute for Collaborative Innovation for Civil-Military Integration, said, "We plan to launch four to six captive balloons from test base and connect them to each other to establish a network at an altitude of about 1000 meters. These balloons will capture sunlight and convert solar energy into microwaves before returning it to Earth. The ground receiving stations will convert these microwaves into electricity and distribute them on a network. If the tests are successful, the researchers will launch new captive balloons into the stratosphere for further testing, he said.
Bringing electricity back to Earth is just one of the challenges ahead. First, the weight of the projected solar panels in the space must be considerably reduced while maintaining the current efficiency levels. Second, the entire system will be extremely expensive, with each solar satellite costing billions of dollars. Xie says that he thinks that a power plant could be in place by 2040.
The idea of collecting the energy of the sun and transmitting it on Earth was first proposed by the American aerospace engineer Peter Glaser in 1968. Since then, it has been studied from time to time. in time by others, including NASA, but the technical challenges were too formidable. go far beyond the stage of the imagination. Now, with advances in space travel and solar panel technology cutting costs over the last decade or so (thanks to Elon Musk and SpaceX), the idea is back on the table.
Some predict that the number of people on Earth will reach 9 billion or more by 2050, the demand for electricity is expected to increase exponentially by that time. Of course, it can be argued that limiting the human population to a number that the Earth can sustainably support would also be a good idea, but it is a distinctly distinct, connotative conversation. social and political complexities.
John Mankins, physicist who led NASA's research on the idea of space solar energy in the 90s, tells NBC News"If you look at the next 50 years, the energy demand is huge. If you can harvest sunlight where the sun is shining continuously and provide it virtually uninterruptedly on Earth – and you can do all this at an affordable price – you win. "
Giant electronic "networks" covering 4 square miles should be built on the ground to capture microwaves that radiate from above. Mankins think that a solar installation in the space could generate up to 2 terawatts of energy. In 2013, the world consumed about 18 terawatt hours of electricity, according to estimates. ZME Science. This number could easily double by 2050.
The idea of generating electricity in space and transmitting it to the Earth is certainly attractive. "You do not have to deal with the cycles day or night, nor the clouds nor the seasons, so you have eight to nine times more power at your disposal," said Ali Hajimiri, professor of electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, tells NBC News. He is the director of the University's Space Solar Power project.
But would it not be simpler and cheaper to simply add more solar power plants and connect them to high-voltage DC super-grids? As written on Quora and published on Forbes In 2016, it would take approximately 43,000 square miles of solar panels to generate 17.4 terawatts of electricity. It looks a lot, right? In fact, this is not the case. The Sahara desert is 3.6 million square miles.
Professor Mehran Moalem, a physicist at UC Berkeley, wrote the Quora article. "This means that 1.2% of the Sahara Desert is enough to cover all of the world's energy needs for solar energy. Coal, oil, wind, geothermal or nuclear can not compete with that. "
But it will not be terribly expensive? Not really. Moalem explains, "The project will cost about $ 5 trillion, a one-time cost at current prices, with no economies of scale. That's less than the cost of saving banks by Obama during the last recession. It is easier to imagine that the cost is equal to 1/4 of the US national debt and 10% of world GDP in one year. This cost is therefore relatively low compared to other global expenditures. There is no future in other forms of energy. In twenty to thirty years, solar will replace everything.
Solar, whether terrestrial or terrestrial, is the ultimate solution to the world's needs in electric power. The choice will depend on the simple economy. At the present time, one could argue that a terrestrial system would be much cheaper and much more practical than collecting a multitude of satellites in space. And it's something that can be done from today, not in 20 years, which is the best scenario for a space diet.
$ 5 trillion may seem like a lot to some people, especially the Jackass In Chief and his coterie of fossil-fueled sycophants in Washington. But not keeping Earth habitable for humans is worth at least as much as saving banks and insurance companies? It's all about perspective and putting our priorities in order.
About the author
Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Rhode Island and wherever the singularity could lead him. His motto is: "Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away!" You can follow him on Google + and on Twitter.
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