Space-Based Solar Power Stations - Clean Energy from Space by 2030s?
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Space-based solar power stations could provide clean, renewable energy by harvesting solar power in space and beaming it to Earth. This concept has been around for decades.
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Orbiting solar power stations would avoid issues like weather interference and nighttime that limit ground-based solar power. Wireless power transmission would beam the energy to Earth.
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Building massive structures in space poses technological challenges, but experts believe there are no "showstoppers". International cooperation could help pool resources.
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Testing power transmission on the moon first could demonstrate the key technologies on a smaller scale, before tackling the harder problem of transmitting power to Earth.
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In-orbit demonstrations could happen in 5 years. Practical systems providing power to some on Earth could be in place by the 2030s.