Space Energy

Japan is preparing to test its space-based solar power station next year and according to the statement the goal is to help the world reduce its dependence on “fossil fuels.” The plans were outlined at the international conference on space energy held in London in recent weeks, the mission is part of a project called Ohisama where a consultant from Japan's space systems research institute Koichi Ijichi shared details about the country's plans to build a mini solar power plant located in space.

The plant will transmit power wirelessly from low orbit directly to the earth, it will be a small 180 kg satellite that will transmit around 1 kW of power at an altitude of 400 km, it is clear that this planned demonstration is not even close at the scale necessary for commercial use, but it still represents an important step, for example one kilo of energy can run a small appliance such as a dishwasher for approximately an hour depending on its size. The satellite will use a 2 square meter photovoltaic panel on board to charge a battery, the energy stored in the battery will then be transformed into microwaves and transmitted to an antenna on the ground, due to the fact that satellites like this travel very fast, At approximately 28,000 km per hour the antennas on the ground will have to be dispersed at a distance of 40 km.

The antenna systems will also have to be placed at a distance of 5 km from each other to allow sufficient power transmission, this type of test is not something new, Caltech researchers have already successfully demonstrated the wireless transmission of solar energy on Earth from a stationary source in orbit, The mission included testing three new solar energy technologies, sending power wirelessly in space, verifying the efficiency of different solar cells, and testing a lightweight structure to transport and support the solar cells and power transmitters. The success of the mission paves the way for the commercial viability of solar energy located in space, unlike solar plants on earth affected by weather conditions and night, space-based solar plants can harvest solar energy On a continuous basis this ensures a constant uninterrupted power supply, overcoming the limitations of daylight and climate fluctuations on earth.