A global competition is intensifying to develop technology for transmitting solar power collected in space to Earth, with a Japanese public-private partnership planning to conduct a trial around fiscal 2025.
The concept of space-based solar power was proposed by an American physicist in 1968. It involves launching solar panels into space to generate electricity at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers.
The solar power is converted into microwaves – the same as the electromagnetic radiation used in microwave ovens – and then transmitted down to ground-based receiving stations for conversion into electrical energy.
