China building solar power station in space

solar, space

China is taking its development of renewables to new heights with scientists revealing plans to build a solar station in space.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the solar station will orbit the earth at 36,000km and could harvest the energy of the suns rays without interference from the atmosphere, weather or night-time loss of sunlight.

Construction of the experimental early stages of the project have begun in the city of Chonqing, with a researcher from the China Academy of Space Technology Corporation Pang Zhihao saying it could provide an inexhaustible source of clean energy for humans.

The solar power station is expected to be 1000 tonnes – more than the international space station – and researchers are examining whether they can use 3D printing technology to construct the station in space to avoid having to launch the heavy structure from earth.

Solar energy that’s harvested at the station would be converted to electricity and a laser or microwave beam would transmit the energy to earth.

Chinese scientists plan to launch the first stations to be launched into the stratosphere between 2021 and 2025.

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