If the power goes out for one minute .. we will stop. You need constant electricity day and night. On the one hand, natural resources such as coal are dwindling. Another difficulty for alternative electricity. At a time like this, efforts have begun to bring electricity from the sky. Want to know what these things are?
Coal is dwindling .. Hydroelectricity is not enough .. Solar power is available .. Electricity is generated only during the day. Production will be reduced if it gets cloudy or sticks to the panels. Other avenues, such as wind power, are less expensive. Unable to produce continuously. Scientists have come up with the idea that more solar panels could be set up in space to generate electricity. While Japan and the European Union are researching that direction, China has entered the field directly. The largest solar project in space is under construction. It has announced that it will set up the project in another 14 years i.e. by 2035.
This is a China project
China is preparing to set up a ‘space solar plant’ in geostationary orbit at an altitude of 23,000 km above the earth. This means that the plant is moving at the same speed as the earth .. always in the same area.
As part of the project, by the year 2035, about 1.6 km of solar panels will be installed in Na Tiki. Starting with a megawatt capacity first .. then expanding further.
The ‘Space Solar Plant’ will be developed to generate one thousand megawatts at the level of a nuclear power plant by 2050.
The city of Chongqing in China is currently building a Bison Space Solar Energy Station in Shi Wars. The experiment is expected to begin later this year.
However, no estimate has been revealed as to how much it will cost to build this huge ‘space solar plant’.
The cost is low.
Britain has already decided to set up a ‘space plant’ by 2039. To that end, a report on the feasibility and cost has been prepared. To set up a one-kilometer-wide plant in space .. 2 thousand tons of equipment is required. It is estimated that the receiving station on Earth will be set up over an area of 95 square kilometers.
Lee said the current cost of 1,000 units of electricity is more than Rs 5,000 at nuclear power plants and up to Rs 3,750 at earth’s solar and wind power plants. The same ‘space solar plant’ is estimated to cost only Rs.385.
From a fiction novel.
Isaac Asimov, a Russian author, wrote about space solar power stations in his 1941 novel Science Fiction. The plants claim to send sunlight to various planets in the form of microwaves. In the 1970s, when the use of solar power was new, some scientists proposed space solar power. But then the situation, at a huge cost, nothing moved forward. With the advent of many new technologies in recent times, research has begun again. Britain, Japan, Russia, the United States, and China are already preparing for the launch.
What are the benefits?
The intensity of the sun’s rays and radiation is high. Electricity is fully generated.
Solar power can only be generated for 9–10 hours daily on Earth. It also generates full power for only six hours of direct sunlight on the solar panels. In the same space, the solar panels are arranged so that they are completely facing the sun. It generates electricity continuously day and night.
Due to this ‘alternative power’ .. the consumption of coal, petroleum and other fossil fuels will stop and pollution on earth will be reduced.
Will it become a weapon?
A private company in the James Bond film sets up a solar lighting system in space. It says to light up where needed at night. But with that system, the solar energy is concentrated at a close like laser rays .. creating havoc. Even if it is a movie scene .. it is noteworthy that there is a concern that there may be such an accident with space solar stations.
Even if it is not done intentionally .. there is a problem in the space solar station .. there are questions as to what happens if the microwaves/laser beams sent to the earth fall on the places where people live. Microwaves are expected to cause radiation.
However, scientists say that accurate system can be set up without such accidents. If there is a situation where the beams are radiating outside beyond the range of the receiving station .. the plant is assured that there will be arrangements for automatic shutdown.
