Solar panels in space could provide 80% of Europes renewable energy by 2050
GuardianAUG 22
Space-based solar represents a game-changing breakthrough that could revolutionize Europe's energy future. The technology offers continuous power generation unaffected by weather, natural disasters, or day-night cycles. With potential 80% reduction in terrestrial renewable needs and 15% cost savings, this innovation could accelerate net-zero goals while providing reliable baseload power.
Space solar remains prohibitively expensive with costs currently 12 orders of magnitude above break-even points needed for viability. The technology faces massive technological hurdles including wireless power transmission, orbital assembly, space debris risks, and the cost of launching and maintaining these systems. Space solar is still a distant dream, and is not yet economically sound.
There is a 50% chance that 30.7 gigawatts of space based solar photovoltaic cells will be installed by 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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