Europe will build solar farms in space and send energy to Earth

European Space Agency You will use the great potential that lies in it Obtaining energy from renewable sources. So far, these have been facilities built on the surface of our planet, but this is expected to change soon.

The agency wants to start working in space in terms of getting energy from the sun and using it for needs space installations power supply And those on the ground. The idea is not new, but now we are finally at the sufficient technological level, to be able to implement it. Experiments will take place within 2-3 years.

There are no clouds and unfavorable climatic conditions in space. acquisition Solar energy It can also happen without interruption since there are no times of the day there. The efficiency of solar systems is several times greater than that of the Earth. Scientists want to take advantage of these benefits because the lack of space management, they explain, is a colossal waste.

85 ideas were submitted to the ESA campaign, 16 of which were evaluated as innovative. The project includes construction Solar farms in orbit And the ability to convert solar energy into radio frequency (RF) energy using innovative “sandwich panels”, and the ability to transfer that energy back to Earth and convert it into usable energy.

Interestingly, China and the United States have similar plans. The first country already has a plan Photovoltaic plant building in orbit. In space, factories will be built, where prefabricated items will be built using 3D printers and installed by robots on an ongoing basis. The first experimental farm will be placed in the stratosphere in 2023 and in space in 2028.

From the information published by CNSA, we can tell that the farm will be there With a capacity of 1 megawattBut in 2050 up to 3 gigawatts. Scientists estimated that the installation would weigh 1,000 tons, half the weight of the International Space Station.

The idea of ​​using solar energy for the purpose of operation New space stations and bases on the moon It may seem ineffective when we have nuclear power at our disposal. However, everything indicates that the governments of the major powers are diversifying the sources of energy production in space. The issue of security for future colonies is important here as well.