Chinese researchers have successfully tested a full-system model of technology that could one day wirelessly transmit solar power from outer space to Earth.
A model power station at Xidian University in Shaanxi province captures sunlight high above the ground and converts it into microwave beams. It then transmits through the air to a receiver station on the ground, where it can be converted back to electricity.
The model sends the energy only 55 meters through the air. But the researchers hope the technology could one day be expanded to send power from orbiting solar panels to Earth.
The research team behind it recently conducted tests in front of a panel of outside experts. They verified its success on June 5, the university said in a press release.
The promise of solar power from space is that it would eliminate the clean energy technology’s biggest drawback – not being able to operate in darkness – by putting the panels in orbit where they can evade Earth’s shadow.
