By 2050, the largest human-made object in space is expected to achieve the generation of 2 gigawatts of energy.

During a conference at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Long Lehao, the chief designer of the Long March rockets and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, revealed that his country plans to build an orbital solar power plant.

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This infrastructure promises to generate as much energy in one year as all the oil that can be extracted from the Earth, he said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Chinese scientists are working to place this 1-kilometer-wide solar energy-harvesting device in a geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

Its power-generating capacity would be very efficient since, “in space, sunlight is 10 times more intense than on Earth’s surface, and there is no need to worry about cloudy days or day-night cycles,” the German newspaper DW explained.

“The panels could constantly collect energy and send it back to Earth wirelessly via high-energy radio waves to ground-based receivers,” it added.

“Chinese Innovation Strikes Again. China to immediately start construction of a Space Based Solar Power (SBSP) device, with tests in 2028. It will be the largest human-made object in space. The global SBSP infrastructure and manufacturing industry is expected to exceed US$1 trillion by 2040,” American journalist Jason Smith posted on social networks.

Previously, in 2021, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) had already reported that its country planned to deploy a device for wireless energy transmission from space in 2028.

Two years later, in 20230, a second phase of the project is expected to be completed, which would involve the transmission of up to one megawatt of solar energy to Earth. By 2050, China is expected to achieve the generation of 2 gigawatts of energy, as reported by Space News.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: South China Morning Post – DW

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