From Guest Blogger Ashley: Could the Navy Succeed in Beaming Solar Energy to Earth from Space?

Recently, the United States Naval Research Laboratory put into plans to build solar panels that are to be placed in space with the capability to beam the energy collected directly to Earth. Sounds like a plot to a James Bond film? Nope. In fact, it’s becoming a reality. There are even plans in the works to use robots to assemble the solar panels which are estimated to be a kilometer long. If the US Navy is successful in this project, what kind of benefits could humanity see from future developments on a civilian scale?

1. No Down Time – Of course the planet and the solar-collecting “satellite” will be revolving as time goes on, but what would happen if a satellite could remain stationary and distribute non-stop power to various parts of the globe as it rotates? Essentially, the Navy is using a form of radio broadcast transmission in order to send this energy back to Earth. Anyone with corresponding receivers should be able to collect that energy as well. With various points across the globe, many of these orbiting power stations could provide an endless supply of power without deviation from weather, trees, or other obstructions we face on Earth.

2. Real Estate of Space – On Earth, we are quite limited in areas that can be developed for a variety of reasons. Space has far more real estate available for developing a solar array on a grand scale. Limitations on Earth don’t apply in orbit and more can be created without significantly causing problems with the neighbors. As long as this form of radio has a strong enough ability to reach the Earth’s surface from various areas of space, humanity has a boundless opportunity to create free energy on a massive scale. However, humans are too corporate for free energy. The overall cost would still be around 10 cents per kilowatt hour.

3. Private Developments – As private investors are putting money into space travel, corporations have already began to show interest in utilizing this technology. An energy corporation in Japan has already put efforts into a plan to place a long strip of solar panels around the moon itself. This would turn Earth’s natural satellite into the largest power plant ever conceived by humankind.

Pitfalls of Space Solar Arrays

Space isn’t the safest place by any stretch of the imagination. Human-made debris as well as miniature meteorites pelt the atmosphere quite regularly. There is already a coalition developed to put efforts into reducing the amount of refuse humans continuously add to the belt of trash around our planet. What can pose a threat to using solar arrays in space?

• Impacts: Some of the debris traveling to the Earth as well as around it are moving at incredible speeds – what if a rock hits the broadcast unit?
• Workers: Will these space-based arrays utilize a work crew to keep them maintained and operational?
• Costs: The cost to send even the smallest of food items to space is astronomically high, pardon the pun, in comparison to weight. Is this simply another way to burn fossil fuels and rake in another grand or two per pound?

If the development works well enough and increases our supply of energy, this could be the beginning of a new race for power. With all of the advantages and disadvantages, it makes for an interesting discussion for providing power on a global scale.