Space-based solar to get an early lift off from the UK
Solar panels in space could help meet the UK’s energy needs, with the government poised to announce funding for eight projects centred around wirelessly transmitting energy from the sun back to earth via satellites.
Energy security secretary Grant Shapps is set to unveil £4.3m to finance early-stage development in the nascent industry.
This includes £3.3m from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and £1m from the UK Space Agency.
The government’s winning projects include Cambridge University, which will develop ultra-lightweight solar panels for the satellites that can function in the high-radiation conditions of space, and Queen Mary University in London, which is working on a wireless system to enable the solar power collected in space to be transferred to earth.
Shapps will announce the move in a speech at London Tech Week today.
If space-based solar lifts off then satellites could help generate up to 10GW of electricity a year – a quarter of the UK’s power needs, by 2050 according to a study from consultancy Frazer Nash commissioned by the government.
The UK is currently aiming for 70GW of solar energy generation by 2035 – with around 17GW currently generated nationwide.
Spaced-based solar power aims to collect energy from the Sun using panels on satellites and beaming it safely back to earth with wireless technology – most likely to a receiving station and then to the national grid.
Earlier this month, scientists at the California Institute of Technology claimed to have achieved a world-first by successfully transmitting solar power to Earth from space.
The technology is in the early stages of development with no timeframe on new satellites, but it has vast potential – providing solar power all year round, as the Sun visible for over 99 per cent of the time in space.
It forecasts that space solar could even create a multi-billion pound industry, with 143,000 jobs across the country.
The UK is among several countries, including Japan and the US weighing up the prospect of space-based solar power.
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps said: “I want the UK to boldly go where no country has gone before – boosting our energy security by getting our power directly from space. We’re taking a giant leap by backing the development of this exciting technology and putting the UK at the forefront of this rapidly emerging industry as it prepares for launch.
“By winning this new space race, we can transform the way we power our nation and provide cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy for generations to come.”