Japan and the country’s space administration, JAXA, have worked for decades to make it possible to beam solar energy from space to Earth. The country made a breakthrough in 2015 when JAXA scientists successfully transmitted 1.8 kilowatts of power, enough to power an electric kettle, to a wireless receiver over a distance of more than 50 meters. Now Japan is preparing to bring this technology one step closer to reality.Harvesting solar energy from space
A Japanese public-private partnership will attempt to beam solar energy from space as early as 2025, Nikkei reports. The project, led by Kyoto University professor Naoki Shinohara and working on space-based solar energy since 2009, aims to place a series of small satellites in orbit. These satellites will transmit the solar energy they collect to ground-based receiving stations hundreds of kilometers below.
The use of orbiting solar panels and microwaves to send energy to Earth was first proposed in 1968. Since then, several countries, including China and the United States, have spent time and resources pursuing the idea. This technology is attractive because solar panels in orbit represent a potentially unlimited source of renewable energy. In space, solar panels can harvest energy no matter the time of day, and clouds aren’t a problem either, as they use microwaves to transfer the power they produce.
However, even if Japan puts a number of satellites into orbit, space-based unlimited solar power will still be closer to science fiction than to reality. Because putting satellites into orbit, ensuring efficiency in energy transfer, and establishing ground stations will cost tens of billions of dollars with current technologies.
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