Letters | How Hong Kong can tap into mainland China’s space solar power project
Readers discuss how the city can contribute to and benefit from the OMEGA project, climate-driven market failure, and sea-land adventure packages
For decades, the idea of beaming solar energy from space has been a subject of intense interest to science-fiction writers and engineers alike. Some scientists consider this the holy grail for energy production as it could provide cheap and abundant clean electricity 24/7, regardless of weather conditions.
A 2023 state-of-the-industry study also found space-based solar power to be economically viable, estimating that a first-of-its-kind 2 gigawatt system would cost US$10 billion to build, before returning US$2 billion in annual revenue.
The basic premise here is to use geostationary satellites to first collect solar energy in space and then wirelessly transmit it to a receiving station in Xian through microwaves.