China has tested a system of receiving solar energy from space
Chinese researchers have successfully tested a full-system model of technology that will be able to transmit solar energy from space to Earth in the future, according to Bloomberg.
A model of a power plant at Xidian University in Shaanxi Province captures sunlight high above the ground and converts it into microwave rays. They are then transmitted by air to a terrestrial receiving station, where the energy is converted back into electricity.
So far, the model transmits energy only 55 meters through the air, but researchers hope that the technology will be developed to transfer energy from orbital solar panels to Earth.
The benefit of solar energy from space is that it will eliminate the biggest disadvantage of ground stations – the inability of solar panels to work in the dark, by bringing the panels into orbit, where they can work continuously and transmit energy to Earth.
China is not the only country studying this technology. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology launched a space solar program after a $100 million grant in 2013. Researchers in India, Britain, and France are also exploring such opportunities, and Japan has made particular progress in this area, according to a Xidian press release. Although some components of solar technology from space have been tested before, Chinese researchers were the first to successfully test a model of a complete system.
