Researchers at Xidian University in China have developed a system designed to test space-based solar power. The facility consists of a 75 meter high tower which in theory should be able to receive solar power collected by satellites in space.
The idea is that geostationary satellites will be able to collect solar energy 24 hours a day, which will then be beamed down to the tower’s receiver via microwaves. The Chinese project is called OMEGA (Orb-Shape Membrane Energy Gathering Array) and the plans for this were developed in 2014. When we could possibly see a fully functional solution that receives solar energy from satellites is not stated.
The USA and NASA are also conducting an experiment with space-based solar energy. It is called SPS-ALPHA (Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large Phased Array). NASA writes about this:
“If successful, this project will make possible the construction of huge platforms from tens of thousands of small elements that can deliver remotely and affordably 10s to 1000s of megawatts using wireless power transmission to markets on Earth and missions in space.”
NASA has not updated the SPS-ALPHA project website since 2019 and the status of the project today is unclear.
interestingengineering.com
Science, Space,
satellites, solar power, solar energy, omega
Photo: Xidian University
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