China to build a solar power plant in space

According to an article in the South China Morning Post, quoted by the "Greensavers" portal, China is planning to build an orbital solar power plant in order to be able to collect and store energy without interruption.

If plans proceed as planned, the 1 Megawat plant will be ready by 2030, with testing to take place in the city of Chongqing in southwest China.

But the Chinese plans don't stop there; the goal is to gradually increase the power plant so that it will have a capacity of 1 Gigawatt by 2049.

Later the stored energy would be sent to our planet by a powerful energy beam.

The construction of the test facility is expected to cost around 15 million euros, and was stalled for three years while the feasibility and safety of the project was analyzed. Last June the project was given the green light again, according to the local government, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The facility will also test technologies that would allow a powerful beam of energy to efficiently penetrate any cloud cover and will also carefully locate a ground station so as not to cause any damage to nearby properties or citizens.

At an altitude of 36,000 km, a geostationary solar power plant would be able to avoid the Earth's shadow and see direct sunlight 24 hours a day. From space, a solar power plant can also collect more electricity, since the Earth's atmosphere reflects or absorbs almost half of the sunlight's energy before it reaches any solar panels placed on the ground.

Much remains to be resolved, such as the potential effects of such a high-frequency energy beam on communications, air traffic, and the well-being of nearby residents. However, if the scientists behind the project can pull it off, they will have overcome the limitations of solar energy by sending it beyond the stratosphere.

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