[Power Technology, hat tip to Epoch Times] The UK government has announced £4.3m ($5.4m) in funding for the development of space-based solar. The funding will be used to develop solar panels to be deployed in space alongside wireless technology that will transmit the electricity they produce to Earth. Speaking at London Tech Week on 13 June, Grant Shapps, the UK’s Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, announced the universities and tech companies that will receive a share of the funding.
"Space-based solar energy farms could deliver clean energy day and night, far more efficiently, and of course in all weathers," Shapps told audiences. "Space-based solar could generate up to 10GW of electricity by 2050 [...] it would be sufficient to power about three quarters of Britain’s homes," he went on.
"With the climate clock ticking, innovation has never been so important," Shapps said on Tuesday. "Half of the emissions reductions required to meet net zero by 2050 will have to come from technologies which are not yet commercially totally available. Or even partially."
The announcement comes amid several recent developments in the space-based solar industry, which Shapps referred to in his speech. The California Institute of Technology has successfully transmitted solar power to Earth from space in a world first. Additionally, the University of Pennsylvania has developed new ultra-lightweight solar cells for use in space.
I suppose this is in the Green New Deal, right? Somewhere?