Data center demand for electricity is driving the need for more electricity production. Alternative sources of electricity are being sought, including space-based solar power.
Recently, Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook) signed a deal with Overview Energy to use power from the company’s space-based solar energy system. The solar
energy is collected in space via solar power equipped satellites and beamed to facilities on the ground for power generation around the clock.
According to the US Department of Energy about 30% of solar energy is reflected into space by the earth’s atmosphere. Since the atmosphere, along with clouds, pollution and nighttime are absent from space, the collection of solar energy is much more efficient.
The collected energy is beamed to earth via microwave or laser beam.
In June 2023, researchers from the California Institute of Technology were able to use a satellite to steer a microwave beam to targets in space as well as steering some of the power to a detector on earth.
NASA was working on space-based solar power in the 1970’s. However, the technology available at that time did not make this form of power cost effective.
The ongoing buildout of data centers is driving demand for electricity, copper and aluminum. Alternative sources for electrical power, like space-based solar power, are being developed.
About C&aC Machine
We are a precision CNC machine shop located in Oklahoma. We manufacture custom components like bus bars and heat sinks for all sorts of energy and power systems.
