It is possible to have multi-megawatt transmissions at $1 to $5 per kilowatt hour
It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but at the same time it could also be the method whereby solar power could be magnified to a global industrial scale.
According to former NASA manager of Advanced Concepts Studies Office of Space Flight , John C. Mankins, space-based solar power (SSP) systems could be capable of meeting the energy needs of millions of people. What’s more, it could be “deployed within a decade using technologies that are today in the laboratory”, he told the World Future Society. Mr. Mankins is one of the world’s leading experts on space-based solar power.
Mankins was speaking last week at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., where he described the findings of a new report on space solar power. So far experts have considered space solar power too expensive to become a reality since it requires sending to space satellites that collect solar light. But Mankins begs to differ.
The space solar power expert said that it is possible to have multi-megawatt transmissions at $1 to $5 per kilowatt hour in the near future (10 to 15 years). The satellites beam energy to Earth using microwaves. The energy is collected via rectnennas composed of a simple mesh. Mankins says the solar energy transferred to Earth and the mesh would have no impact on the environment and animal health.
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