Managing with its small amount of resources and increasing demand for fuels, Japan is one of those countries of the world that largely depends on renewable sources for energy consumption. No wonder this yearning led the country to launch an audacious multi-billion dollar eco-friendly concept, the Space Solar Power System (SSPS) that would take form by 2030.
Cashing in on the fact that power of the sun is five times stronger in space when compared to Earth; the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is looking forwards to launching an array of photovoltaic dishes measuring several square kilometers (square miles) beyond the Earth’s atmosphere into the geostationary orbit from where the energy collected would be zapped down through laser beams or microwaves. These would in turn be collected by the enormous parabolic antennae to be set up in restricted areas of the sea and dam reservoirs. This one gigawatt system that would be the size of an average atomic power plant is expected to generate electricity at eight yen (cents) per kilowatt-hour which happens to be six times cheaper than the current cost in the country.
The government is roping in several Japanese high-tech giants like Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Fujitsu and Sharp as a part of this project. So, not very far in the future, we might spot an extraterrestrial solar power station while watching the sky through our telescopes!
Source: Yahoo News
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