China plans to start building first-ever solar power plant in space by 2028

Orbiting system to be launched in 2028, two years ahead of original plan, scientists say in paper

Technological advances and potential military applications may have renewed government interest in the concept, researcher says

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A microwave power transmission experiment on the ground. Photo: Dong Shiwei, National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Space Microwave, China Academy of Space Technology in Xian

Published: 12:00pm, 7 Jun 2022Updated: 3:23pm, 7 Jun 2022

China plans to launch an ambitious space solar power plant programme in 2028, two years ahead of the original schedule, according to scientists involved in the project.

A satellite will be launched that year to test wireless power transmission technology from space to the ground from an altitude of 400km (250 miles), according to the updated plan in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Chinese Space Science and Technology on Thursday.

In the paper, the researchers said the satellite would convert solar energy to microwaves or lasers and direct the energy beams to various targets, including fixed locations on Earth and moving satellites.

The power generated will reach 10 kilowatts, just enough to meet the needs of a few households.

But the technology could be scaled up significantly and become “an effective contributor to reaching carbon peak and neutrality goals”, Professor Dong Shiwei with the National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Space Microwave under the China Academy of Space Technology in Xian said in the paper.

Dong and his colleagues said the plan was first drafted in 2014 and changed in response to “recent technological advancement and new situations at home and abroad”.

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