UK Invests £4.3M to Build Solar Power Plant in Space
On Tuesday, the UK government announced £4.3M in funding for universities and tech firms to develop a space-based solar power plant.
Facts
- On Tuesday, the UK government announced £4.3M in funding for universities and tech firms to develop a space-based solar power plant.1
- Energy security secretary Grant Shapps stated that, by collecting energy from the Sun using satellite-mounted panels and transmitting it back to Earth, the solar plant could help boost the UK's energy security.2
- Shapps admitted there were "a whole load of technical issues to overcome," including protecting solar panels from asteroids. However, he added that "the advantages could be immense."1
- A government-commissioned study had previously found solar power could create a multi billion-pound industry, produce up to 143K jobs, and generate up to 10GW of electricity annually by 2050, meeting a quarter of the country's electricity needs.3
- The funding — which includes £3.3M from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and £1M from the UK Space Agency — is set to be shared by eight technology and research projects.4
- The funding's recipients include Cambridge University, which will develop ultra-lightweight solar panels for the satellites, and Queen Mary University, which will create a wireless system to send the solar power back to the UK.5
Sources: 1The Telegraph, 2Guardian, 3GOV.UK, 4BusinessGreen News, and 5Envirotec.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Times. A space-based solar power plant could significantly reduce the need for fossil fuels, cut household bills, and extend access to clean power to remote locations. The technology, apart from providing cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy for future generations, may well fundamentally transform how the UK power system operates.
- Narrative B, as provided by Nature. These plans might be too risky and difficult to execute. The government has sidelined concerns about the radiation risk from any electricity beamed and the threat of solar panels being battered by micrometeorites and generating massive amounts of space debris without any substantial justification. Additionally, if handled incorrectly, space-based solar power plants could one day become weapons of mass destruction. The potential downsides of these plans should not be understated.
Predictions
How much total space based solar PV (in GW) will be installed by the following years?
Showing the aggregate of 6 community forecasts as of Jun 16, 2023.
