Japan's space-based solar energy aims to enter a groundbreaking milestone by the middle of the decade or as early as 2025.
By mid-decade, the Japanese country aims to beam solar power directly from space, marking a significant milestone in renewable energy. The endeavor is poised to revolutionize how we generate and distribute clean energy.
Japan Space-Based Solar Power
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: In this photo provided by NASA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon shortly after landing in the Gulf of Mexico on March 11, 2023 off the coast of Tampa, Florida.
The global race to space-based solar power is getting pretty heated these days. Space agencies, such as the United States National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan, alongside the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), are competing to develop a tech that beams solar power collected from outer space to our home planet, Earth, according to Wellspring. China is also pursuing the innovative idea.
The talks to dive into space-based energy began between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The giant space agencies, namely ESA and NASA, started groundbreaking research and development to make solar power tech possible in the said period.
But this time, as per Nikkei Asia, Japan has set its sights on making strides in the race to deliver a futuristic solution to harness the unlimited potential of solar power. The Asian country plans to kick off its trial of beaming solar power from space in fiscal 2025 through a private-public partnership.
Engadget reports that the Japanese government and JAXA have worked closely to make beaming solar energy from space for decades. In 2015, the country's premiere space administration scientist achieved a groundbreaking phenomenon. The bright minds in Japan successfully transmitted roughly 1.8 kilowatts of energy wirelessly. It impressively powered an electric kettle.
How Japan's Space Solar Power Works
A decade after that, a Japanese professor at the Kyoto University, Naoki Shonhara, is leading a space-based solar energy project to lift off several small satellites in orbit. These artificial satellites seek to crucially make beaming solar energy harvested from space to our home planet. In other words, they should transmit power wirelessly from stations orbiting hundreds of miles away from Earth.
Harnessing solar energy directly from space holds numerous advantages over traditional solar energy generation methods.
Given that space-based solar energy harnesses power beyond the limits of Earth, the technology should harvest the sun's rays, whether night or day. As the amount of sunlight in space is significantly greater, it should deliver more energy. Bad weather on our home planet should no longer be an issue, resulting in a more consistent and abundant energy source.
Related Article: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Poised for Record Defense Orders as Japan Boosts Military Capability
