NASA's Innovative Solar Power Designs Could Revolutionize Europe's Energy Landscape by 2050
NASA is working on two innovative designs that could revolutionize Europe's energy landscape by 2050. These space-based solar power solutions aim to help achieve a carbon-free grid, reducing costs and reliance on Earth-bound renewable sources.
The first design, Heliostat Swarm, is being studied by European researchers. It uses NASA-developed technology to collect sunlight in space and beam it down to Earth. This method could maintain optimal sunlight collection nearly all the time, but it's still some way off from realization.
Space-based solar power is gaining traction among governments worldwide. Space agencies in the US, Europe, Japan, and China are developing and testing various concepts. If costs drop below 9 times the projected 2050 cost for solar power, space-based solar could potentially provide almost all of Europe's required power.
The heliostat design could significantly reduce total energy system costs by 7 to 15 percent by 2050. It could replace up to 80 percent of Earth-bound wind and solar installations and reduce battery usage by over 70 percent. Meanwhile, the planar array design could be deployed sooner but generates power only 60 percent of the time.
An analysis in Joule predicts that space-based solar power could significantly lower the cost of Europe's 2050 net zero commitment. With further research and development, these innovative designs could play a crucial role in achieving a carbon-free grid in Europe by 2050.
