Japan is all set to implement an idea that has been tossed around for almost the past four decades – space-based solar power. The proposed power plant in space is said to cost a whooping US$21 billion, and will develop power using solar energy to generate one gigawatt of energy (enough to power 294,000 homes). The energy developed will then be transmitted wirelessly to Earth.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and industrial design company IHI Corp. have teamed up to develop a technology that will transmit the power generated without the use of wires. Mitsubishi and IHI will be a part of a research group, along with 14 other global companies, to create the four square kilometer space power station in the next three decades. Japan also plans to test a small prototype of the ‘power plant’ by 2015.
The project though, will have to go through many hurdles. These include the high transportation costs of solar panels into space, the very-real collision damange to the power station from meteors and asteroids, and possible health issues that could be caused because of the cable-less power transmission. The list is endless. Still, Japan looks forward to develop the necessary wireless technology in just four years.
Japan is not the only country in the race for solar-based power generation. Solaren Corporation and utility company Pacific Gas and Electric, both based in California in the US, are working on a 200 Megawatt power station to be set up in space in a 15-year span, that starts in 2015.
via [Inhabitat]
Similar Posts:
- Solar powered and waterproof cell phone coming to Japan
- Google PowerMeter to help you monitor/save power consumption
- Terry Kenny with his Dragon Power Station, lighting up US roads
- Samsung Solar Guru E1107 world’s first solar powered mobile
- Samsung invests $3.5b for wafer plant in Texas
0 comentários:
Enviar um comentário