Japan Boosts Prospects of Solar Power From Space

Space-based solar power is one of those stories that just won't go away. Does that mean the idea actually has merit? I don't know, but the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is confident enough to have signed up several collaborators to launch a huge one gigawatt power station into space.

This scheme entails launching a bunch of solar panels into space, where solar rays are more intense, from where they beam energy back to earth. Simple in concept, completely untested in practice.

Join me in scoffing if you will, but this does mark the first time that anyone has made a significant move toward space-based solar. One of California's big utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric, made a big splash in April when it announced that it would buy power from Solaren, but the deal was essentially without risk to PG&E and Solaren is a tiny startup.

JAXA, by contrast, has three giant companies on board: Fujitsu, Mitsubish Electric,and Sharp. And there's plenty of money involved, too. Back in September when JAXA first hinted at the deal, it said it would invest $21 billion. That's more than a whimsical bet.

The plan is to have the solar panels floating overhead by 2020, sending down power by laser or microwave. It's hoping the power will cost about 8 yen per kilowatt hour -- about 9 cents American. That's a bit more expensive than coal, but far cheaper than other solar power.

Challenges abound: Space launches are frightfully expensive, wireless power transmission isn't yet up to par and space debris and misfires could ruin the whole project. But with JAXA interested, space-based solar will at least take off terrestrially, even if it never makes it to space.