Two Korean research institutes are designing a space solar power satellite project with the aim of providing approximately 1000 TWh of electricity to the Earth per year. The 95 gigawatts of nuclear in the US generates 800 terawatt hours per year. Spaced based solar at 120 gigawatts would generate 1000 terawatt hours.
This is an improved proposed Korean Space Solar Power Satellite (K-SSPS) project. It is a conceptual design of the satellite, its end-of-life disposal method, and a first pilot system and experiment.
The proposed system would use 4,000 sub-solar arrays measuring 10 meters × 270 meters and comprising thin film roll-out, with a system power efficiency of 13.5%.
It is not derived from rigorous analyses but rather serves as system requirements for commercial viability.
The system will have a mass of 10,000 tons per 2 gigawatt module and transmit microwave at a frequency of 5.8 GHz to Earth via a 1.0 square kilometer antenna. The microwaves can be converted on the ground to usable electricity via rectennas, which are special receiving antennas that are used for converting electromagnetic energy into direct current (DC).
On the ground, the researchers propose to place 60 rectennas with a diameter of 4 km along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In that case, 60 satellites will have to correspond to the 60 rectennas. If each rectenna could generate 2 GW, the total power collected would be 120 GW.
A successful SSPS could provide electricity at a price of 3 cents/kWh, significantly lower than that of nuclear power. This estimate is based on a scenario where the SSPS generates 2 GW of power, has a mass of 9192 tons, an installation cost of $11.4 billion (with a launch cost of $600/kg), and a 30-year lifetime. The full 120 GW system would be about 600,000 tons.
South Korea’s electricity consumption in 2022 was 548 TWh. This is why I know the statement about 1 TWh was wrong as they said this system would generate more energy than South Korea makes now.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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