Space Solar Power System

Like the story of a fictional movie, but Japanese space agency plan so serious: In 2030 they will capture solar energy in space and sends it to Earth via laser or microwave.

The Japanese government recently chose a group of companies and research teams who are assigned to achieve this ambition, a dream worth billions of dollars, to produce clean energy in an unlimited amount in the next few decades. With few sources of energy they have and a high dependence on imports, Japan has long wanted to be a leader in solar energy and other renewable energy. This year Japan has set an ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But Japan’s most daring plan today is the development of Space Solar Power System (SSPS), which form a series of Photovoltaic panels measuring several square kilometers of floating geostationary orbit, far above the earth’s atmosphere.

Solar panels to capture solar energy, which at least five times stronger in space than on earth, and radiate it to earth through a laser beam or microwave. This energy will be collected by a giant parabolic antenna, which placed a particular location at sea or in the dam.

Researcher hopes to one gigawatt system, equivalent to a nuclear power plant medium size, which will produce electricity at a price of eight cents per Kwh, six times cheaper than rates in Japan now.

Various challenges, including bringing the components into space, can appear enormous, but the Japanese have been running this project since 1998, with 130 researchers who conduct research under the supervision of JAXA.

A few months ago, Minister of Economy and Trade with the Minister of Science and Technology, made a step forward toward the realization of the project by selecting some of Japan’s leading technology companies to implement the project. This consortium named the Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer, consisting of Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Fujitsu and Sharp.

Roadmap project consists of several steps that must be done before a full launch in 2030.

The next step, expected to occur around 2020, will launch a large structure Photovoltaic with a capacity of ten megawatts, followed by a 250 megawatt-sized prototype.

This step will help evaluate the financial capacity of the project, where the end result is to produce cheap electricity that can compete with other alternative technologies.

JAXA says the technology is safe but acknowledged the transmission must first convince the public, which is often linked picture will be fired laser beams from outer space, roasting birds or cutting planes in flight.

According to research by JAXA in 2004, the word “laser” and “microwave”, was most attention among the 1000 respondents.

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