The United States plans to build the world's first orbital solar power plant

According to the American magazine Discovery, in 2016, the energy used by some houses in California may come from solar panels orbiting the earth. Currently, the largest power company in California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (hereinafter referred to as PG&E), has announced plans to purchase electricity from Solaren Corp. (hereinafter referred to as Solaren), which intends to build the world's first orbital solar power plant.

Solaren is a startup that hopes to make the first-ever attempt at commercially developing space solar energy. According to the plan, Solaren will use solar panels orbiting the Earth to generate electricity, and then convert the electricity into radio frequency waves for transmission. The receiving station in Fresno will be responsible for receiving the radio frequency waves. Here, the radio frequency waves will be converted into electricity and fed into the power grid.

The idea of ​​developing and using space solar power has been discussed for decades. The idea of ​​using space solar power was first born in science fiction in 1941, and has since been seriously studied by NASA and the Pentagon. Throughout the process, using space solar power has been regarded as a "pipe dream" at times. Since energy can be generated day and night regardless of weather conditions, building a solar power plant has incomparable advantages, which is enough to excite researchers and make this idea a reality through continuous research and efforts.

Solaren CEO Gary Spirnak said that solar power plant technology is ready for prime time. "Although no system of this scale and such a sophisticated structure has been tried before, the basic technology is already very mature and is based on communication satellite technology."

PG&E has requested California regulators to approve the purchase of 200 megawatts of electricity from Solaren once the satellite system is built, which is enough to meet the electricity needs of about 150,000 households. In a document submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission on the 10th, PG&E admitted that "emerging technologies such as space solar power plants face considerable challenges." But they also pointed out: "PG&E believes in the potential of this technology itself. Compared with the challenges of a new and unproven technology, we value the huge benefits that consumers can get from a successful space solar power plant."

Solaren says the space solar power plant will be in commercial operation in 2016. Spinak admits that in order to achieve this ambitious goal, Solaren needs to raise billions of dollars in funding. Although the task is daunting, he is confident that Solaren can complete it successfully.

According to Spinak, Solaren's team of satellite engineers, most of whom have worked in the Air Force or Boeing's space division, will begin designing solar panels and satellites and will work closely with contractors in the aerospace industry. He pointed out that the team of engineers will conduct relevant tests to verify their designs before entering the prototype trial stage. It is reported that Solaren's proposed system will require four rockets to send its components into space, and these components will be assembled in space by themselves without the help of astronauts.

Regarding the potential danger of microwave beams from space straying from their direction and burning residents on Earth, PG&E cited a report by a NASA scientist to dispel people's doubts. The report pointed out that the energy carried by similar space microwave beams is less than that of sunlight and only about 3% of that of ordinary microwave ovens, so it is not enough to put anyone at risk of being burned.