China is planning to deploy a solar power station in space, the first ever known solar power facility to be launched outside of the Earth.
The solar power station will be orbiting the planet at 36,000 kilometers in order to send electrical power back to Earth. According to Chinese scientists, the space-based solar power facility will be “an inexhaustible source of clean energy for humans.” They also claim that it could potentially supply energy at a constant rate of about 99%. Not to mention, it will also be about six times more intense than solar farms on Earth.
China’s first plan is to build and launch a smaller version of the solar power station somewhere from 2021 to 2025. If all goes well, China will then be building the Megawatt-level power station by 2030.
While solar power generators are not unheard of thanks to current technology, a solar power station deployed in space does have some additional benefits. For one, it won’t have to compete with other factors on Earth that may interfere with its solar power generation, such as atmosphere or seasonal changes that affect the amount of sunlight that regular panels receive.
Construction for the smaller power station is already underway, according to Chinese reports. Currently, China is anticipating the construction to start in 2030 for the one-megawatt solar power facility.
