UK government commissions research into viability of space-based solar power systems
It is a concept that has been beloved of sci-fi writers ever since the world-renowned novelist Isaac Asimov first popularised the idea back in 1941. And like so many of the best technologies explored by science fiction, the suggestion that satellites could generate solar power from orbit that could then be transmitted back to Earth is not as ridiculous as it first seems.
Scientists have long argued that it should be technically possible to collect solar energy from orbit that could be converted it into high-frequency radio waves which could then be safely beamed back to ground-based receivers connected to the electrical power grid.
Now the UK is set to join a handful of nations in actively exploring whether the approach could make a meaningful contribution to the effort to develop a global clean energy system.
The UK Space Agency and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy announced yesterday that the government has commissioned new research into space-based solar power (SBSP) system, amidst growing hopes that plummeting solar technology costs and the emergence of commercial space and satellite services could make it economically feasible to generate space solar power.
The new study is to be led by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, which has been tasked with considering the engineering and economics of such a system, whether it could deliver affordable energy for consumers, and the engineering and technology that would be required to build it.
"The sun never sets in space, so a space solar power system could supply renewable energy to anywhere on the planet, day or night, rain or shine," said Dr Graham Turnock, chief executive of the UK Space Agency. "It is an idea that has existed for decades, but has always felt decades away. The UK is growing its status as a global player in space and we have bold plans to launch small satellites in the coming years. Space solar could be another string to our bow, and this study will help establish whether it is right for the UK."
He added that there were reasons to think the technology could have a role to play in global decarbonisation efforts. "Historically, the cost of rocket launches and the weight that would be required for a project of this scale made the idea of space-based solar power unfeasible," he said. "But the emergence of privately-led space ventures has brought the cost of launch down dramatically in the last decade."
Significantly, the announcement came just hours after four astronauts launched from Florida on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in a rocket and capsule provided by the SpaceX company backed by billionaire investor and Tesla founder Elon Musk, marking a major milestone for the nascent commercial space technology market.
Martin Soltau, space business manager at Frazer-Nash, said SBSP has "the potential to contribute substantially to UK energy generation, and offers many benefits if it can be made practical and affordable".
"Frazer-Nash is studying the leading international solar power satellite designs, and we will be drawing up the engineering plan to deploy an operational SBSP system by 2050," he explained. "We are forming an expert panel, comprised of leading SBSP experts and space and energy organisations, to gain a range of industry views. We will compare SBSP alongside other forms of renewable energy, to see how it would contribute as part of a future mix of clean energy technologies."
Frazer Nash has also partnered with Oxford Economics to undertake an economic assessment of the proposed system and likely wider benefits to the UK economy of developing an SBSP sector.
The move is the latest in a series of steps by the government to bolster investment in early stage clean technologies that could play a long term role in curbing global carbon emissions. For example, the government has this year announced increased investment in nuclear fusion R&D programmes and earlier this month provided more details on a competition to fund the development of direct air carbon capture technologies.