Space Solar, a UK aerospace startup, plans to transmit 30 megawatts of solar-generated electricity from 35,786 kilometers above Earth to Iceland by 2030. The company just penned a deal with Reykjavik Energy to build what could become the first operational space-based photovoltaic power station. The physics behind it? Solar panels in geosynchronous orbit capture unfiltered sunlight 24/7, convert it to DC power, transform that into radio frequency waves, and beam it down to Earth where receivers—called rectennas—convert it back into usable electricity. The whole system achieves 18% end-to-end efficiency, with the RF-DC conversion steps running at 85%. “We can instantaneously … Continue reading Space Solar to Beam 30 Megawatts of Clean, Orbit-Based Solar Power to Iceland 24/7 by 2030 in Global First