UK-based company Space Solar is partnering with Reykjavik Energy and Icelandic sustainability initiative Transition Labs to develop a space-based solar power plant that can deliver about 30 megawatts of electricity – potentially enough to power between 1,500 and 3,000 homes – from 2030. The system will collect sunlight in space through solar panels and then transmit it as radio waves at a specific frequency to a ground station, where it will be converted to electricity for the grid.

The satellite is expected to be scalable and quite big. Even if a full version of their CASSIOPeiA power array is not built, we are talking about the heaviest single object in space that is not a space station, and when all the arrays are splayed out, much larger than the International Space Station.

The company aims to have a scaled-up version of the system in space by 2036, which would supply gigawatts of electricity.

  • shapesandstuff
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    5 hours ago

    Yeah im curious about it but it sounds like lossy-er solar farming… Perhaps its about surface area and around the clock availability?

    Now i imagine pirate power radiostations…

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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      2 hours ago

      Yeah im curious about it but it sounds like lossy-er solar farming… Perhaps its about surface area and around the clock availability?

      Presumably. Just the ability to run it at maximum efficiency for 24 hours would probably more than cancel out conversion losses.

      • shapesandstuff
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        1 hour ago

        So i should start building my free energy pirate station soon? :p