Japan's space agency planning space-based solar power arrays

We've seen some pretty out there solar installations, but JAXA, the Japanese space agency, is about to get really far out with its latest project: a space-based solar array that beams power back to Earth. The agency is set to begin testing on the microwave power transmission system on February 20th, with an attempt to beam enough power over the 2.4GHz band to power a household heater at 50 meters (164 feet). That's certainly not the sort of large-scale sci-fi power system we were hoping for, but fret not -- if the tests are successful, JAXA's plan is to eventually launch a constellation of solar satellites, each beaming power to a 1.8-mile wide receiving station that'll produce 1 gigawatt of electricity and power 500,000 homes.

[anonymouspimp @ Feb 7th 2008 5:54PM]

impressive... but it'd be better if ti beamed... 1.21 GIGAWATTS!!!

[PeterF @ Feb 7th 2008 5:54PM]

damnit! too slow!

[!!! @ Feb 7th 2008 6:31PM]

...OK, I give up. The hell you talking about?

[anonymouspimp @ Feb 7th 2008 6:38PM]

LOL, it's a line for the greatest scientific movie of all time... Back to the Future.

[Jeff @ Feb 7th 2008 7:06PM]

the only power source capable of generating 1.21 gigawatts of electricity is a bolt of lightning.

:)

[SimonRichards @ Feb 7th 2008 8:39PM]

damn i wish id been here earlier :(

but thats a great movie :D

[aron @ Feb 7th 2008 5:55PM]

I have a book from the early 80s at home that discusses various "out there" space project proposals from American scientists; this was one of them. The idea was to have a geosynchronous solar collector that beams energy back via microwave. They listed many cons of the project which made it implausible. I must see if I can dig it up.

[Matt @ Feb 8th 2008 10:34AM]

Um... 1 gigawatt? From geostationary orbit? The free space loss alone is -191dB, which means their satellite will have to be broadcasting at least 10^19 gigawatts of power!! That represents about 3*10^19 SQUARE KILOMETERS of solar arrays.

Has anyone told these guys that it's impossible?

[Matt @ Feb 8th 2008 10:40AM]

Whoops, my error... I was assuming two isotropic antennas. About 5-10 square km of solar panels might be enough.

But still... that's too many.

[Ford Tang @ Feb 7th 2008 5:55PM]

This isn't really that out there. You could build one in Sim City 2000.

[Backlin @ Feb 7th 2008 7:47PM]

Dang it! I was going to say that.

[David @ Feb 8th 2008 5:45PM]

Do you remember when you built these in SimCity 2000 and the beam down from the satellite missed the receiver dish and nuked a whole section of city (if you placed your city too close the the receiver).

Sounds like it could be pretty offensive as well. I'd hate to be a fish too close to the receiver panel in the ocean there.

[ShadowMaker @ Feb 7th 2008 6:05PM]

I guess this might mess with my dect phone if I'm in the line of sight.

[Toadlet @ Feb 7th 2008 6:12PM]

DECT = 1.9 GHz
On the other hand, line of sight = standing on the solar array while the collective microwave force of a constellation of satellites cooks you and your helpless phone. Good luck with that.

[ShadowMaker @ Feb 7th 2008 6:16PM]

Well, at least my Dect phone will work so I can call 911.

[carlos @ Feb 7th 2008 6:09PM]

And when it microwaves a major US city they'll just claim it was an accident.

[Samurai Jack @ Feb 7th 2008 6:10PM]

And soon we will have a bunch of roasted pigeons falling from the sky. And other birds. Not to mention a few new no-fly zones for humans.

[Daniel Faustino @ Feb 7th 2008 6:11PM]

Watching Gundam a lot aren't we?

[Ryan @ Feb 12th 2008 2:32AM]

Next it will be GN drives

[Montusama @ Feb 7th 2008 11:05PM]

by Gundam I hope you mean Gundam 00 as most other Gundam series (especially the first) only use solar energy for a big laser cannon, but they already got a nice blue-print......just use anime :P

p.s. just had to take my gundam idea!

[Dave @ Feb 7th 2008 11:39PM]

Thought the same thing... HRL and all..

[Will @ Feb 7th 2008 6:16PM]

It's only a matter of time until some shadowy figure in NOD manages to take control of it. Then we're done for.

[mattbates @ Feb 7th 2008 6:18PM]

JUST like in sim city 2000. i've never played a game as much as i played that game. you had the solar power plant that could sometimes mess up and fry your city. awesome.

[Coleman Foley @ Feb 7th 2008 6:26PM]

umm..the US was already working on this same thing

[JuggleNuts @ Feb 7th 2008 6:50PM]

I think I saw some sort of action-documentary on this device ... they called it like "Icarus" or something.

[stitifier @ Feb 7th 2008 11:02PM]

I saw that one too. I remember thinking the one blonde cohost was super hot. The dry British male lead, though, totally boring.

[Nicholasse @ Feb 8th 2008 7:07PM]

Your thinking Sunshine

[Gibson @ Feb 7th 2008 6:53PM]

So, 2,000,000 people with power, only 122,000,000 to go?

[ED @ Feb 7th 2008 7:04PM]

Now we just need a robot capable of aiming this thing through all the cosmic disturbances or whatever they're called.

[Jesse S @ Feb 7th 2008 7:05PM]

Wasn't this the start of a crummy James Bond movie?

[Jeff @ Feb 7th 2008 7:08PM]

what about the giant sea monster they'll surely awaken once this goes live?

no one ever takes that into account.

[mario @ Feb 7th 2008 7:11PM]

Tetsuuuo!
Kanedaaa!

SOL

[R @ Feb 7th 2008 7:16PM]

In related news, stock in Hawaiian Tropic and Coppertone triple overnight.

[Robots, Take Over, Please @ Feb 7th 2008 7:17PM]

This isn't new, Engadget. Space-based solar power satellites were designed well over 30 years ago. Only now are they receiving serious consideration.

Shows you how much the average person cares about space. So sad. People are more concerned about protecting baby seals.

[The Aggie CEO @ Feb 7th 2008 8:05PM]

This reeks of a James Bond Movie.........

[Josh @ Feb 7th 2008 9:00PM]

I read a sci fi book awhile ago that used this technology. I've racked my brain, but I can't remember the name of it. I think it was by Ben Bova.

[anon @ Feb 7th 2008 9:51PM]

Anybody even remotely worried about global warming? We're beaming 1 GW of energy to the Earth that would not reach it otherwise. And we all almost all energy eventually ends up as heat.

[Flashpoint @ Feb 7th 2008 10:10PM]

Microwave radiation does not cause Global warming. INFRA RED radiation does - when it enters Earth's atmosphere but gets trapped by Carbon dioxide or other Greenhouse gases.

Microwave radiation is far more likely to cause cancer of the skin.

[anon @ Feb 8th 2008 12:43AM]

I'm not talking about greenhouse gases or anything like that. It doesn't matter what form energy enters the atmosphere in. It just matters that it's energy we'll be using. We're adding energy into a closed system and a lot of energy is dissipated as heat.

[smedrick @ Feb 8th 2008 7:18PM]

Please, don't try to act intelligent. It doesn't suit you.

[anon @ Feb 10th 2008 4:26PM]

Ignorance suits you. This is simple thermodynamics. Ever heard of it?

[SoreThumb @ Feb 7th 2008 10:14PM]

I'm not sure what joke goes in reply to this post. However, with one gigawatt of energy beaming to the people of Japan, one thought does come to mind: Danger, High voltage.

[Jim @ Feb 7th 2008 11:38PM]

Am I the only one that thinks absorbing MORE of the sun's energy is just another form of global warming?

[Robots, Take Over, Please @ Feb 8th 2008 12:36AM]

Yes.

[un_peacekeeper @ Feb 8th 2008 12:58AM]

I remember building this in Simcity games. oh how the predicted the future.

[Korova @ Feb 8th 2008 2:13AM]

News Flash: Japan to microwave planet Earth, but Archimedes says ball hard to pick up with chop sticks.


This project gives a whole new meaning to hot pie in the sky.

[F-ZeroOne @ Feb 8th 2008 5:19AM]

Completely coincidentally for a country with the worlds most otaku government organisations, solar energy arrays - and access to them - is a major plot element in the latest Gundam series. Hmm.

[Zhalfim Deyn @ Feb 8th 2008 12:52PM]

ok, I give props to EVERYONE...every quote/reference that I was thinking of has been said...

this idea is still pretty slick...

[deth @ Feb 8th 2008 5:55PM]

1. This wouldn't beam concentrated sunlight onto solar panels on the ground.

2. This would use a thing called a "rectenna", which are generally pretty reasonably efficient at converting microwave energy into dc current (but not so the other way around).

3. A big part of what makes this so appealing is that in orbit, you get around 8 times more sunlight per panel. So you can generate lots more power in a relatively small and light package.

4. We get hit with microwaves all the time. This wouldn't be any different. Since the antennas will have to be fair sized (we're talking kilometers), the actual energy density won't be real high.

The big problem is that to be worth it, you'd be putting something larger then most terrestrial projects into orbit, and that you're looking at - essentially - building something never before even attempted. There's also issues to do with (for example) debris and radiation degrading the panels. And of course, this would be the military target to beat all military targets; the cost alone makes it not only priceless but irreplaceable in a time of war, to speak nothing of the manufacturing involved.

While i like beamed solar a lot, i don't think it's ready for prime time just yet. I'd be very curious to see the final cost per kilowatt hour for the households serviced, and how it compares with (for example) tidal or geothermal power over the lifespan of the generator.

I also think we should focus (much much more then we have been) on *thermal* solar generation instead of the semi-conductor types. There's no need for rare or valuable materials, and there's plenty of desert to go around.

[j12997967 @ Feb 8th 2008 8:53PM]

Right, the world isn't heating up enough with the solar energy already hitting our planet (and getting trapped inside or atmosphere, greenhouse-style), we have to go out into space and pull more in!

And if that doesn't kill the planet (and us) fast enough, under the rubrik of reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we can use some of that extra energy to sequester the gas in big undersea bubbles! Can anyone say limnic eruption?