Is space solar energy the future?
China is developing a massive solar power station in geostationary orbit that could generate gigawatts of electricity and beam it directly to Earth. If China works it out successfully, she will reshape the future of electricity, global influence and the way space is used as strategic territory.
If China can beam energy from the space solar farms without any need to cross border lines, pipes, cables and choked navigation points, she will gain power that no nation can ever held.
The space will no longer just about orbits of satelite and communication, it becomes an energy platform, a new industrial zone above the atmosphere. The question is NO LONGER about who can build rockets but who can build and maintain space infrastructures to stay there.
This video demonstrates the concept of China's space base solar farm station.
NASA doesn't progress far for several reasons:
US politics is overly sold out addicted to the ideology of oil and fossil interests.
US spent most of its finance in oil related wars in the last two decades WHEN China took it seriously to progress from previous known research and studies and began their works.
Toxic USA partisanship and recurring budget stand offs between the two parties make it impossible for continous of fundings from the Congress.
Ironically, the only person that axed MOST of US funding was Elon Musk via DODGE. Musk has his own space agenda outside WH.
Before the Iran war, US national debt had already surpassed ONE TRILLION. The scale require to make space solar farm operational viable (let alone commercially profitable) is MUCH MORE than trillion. Where can US find this money?!
Japan is another leading in research and experiment on smaller scale but the size of country is hard to make the gigantic capital investments (in China's words to describe what they are doing is build another 3 Gorges dam on the space) required. Japan government will face the political risks of any failures on big investment projects.
EU is the nearest close player because EU widely accept uptaking of renewable energies but EU is dwarfted by internal divisions in approval ANYTHING big and financially tied up in the ongoing Ukraine war as Trump's USA is throwing out threats to leave NATO and cutting back financially supports for Ukraine. If EU can unite for this strategic future in coming decades, they may success or at least close the space racing gap with China.
UK has started something on space solar energy projects but same as Japan, the size of country is too small to reach the gigantic scale that justify ONGOING HUGE capital and funding. UK leaving EU dwarfts it A LOT of aggregated advantages.
does not need to accountable to anybody for their actions and therefore doesn't need congress/parliament approval.
does not involve in wars like USA.
big strategic investments are always means to serve political strategic purposes. Any loss is justified for the purposes without any big political consequences.
can move any capital, resources and manpower to serve what CCP prioritised as strategic industries.
Putting aside difference of political conflicts, space solar energy if works out successfully, is INDEED is the most peaceful and sustainable way of renewable energy because it totally transcends all the political fault lines of earthy territories. In foresseable future, there won't be space wars because even other players can also join in and reach technological, commercial, and operational scales, NOBODY will be insane enough to destroy each other's solar energy space stations up on the orbits. (Even during the cold war, USA and USSR cooperated up there on their space stations.) In this sense, everyone down on Earth is better shield from unncessarily oil-resources driven wars. Within such context, the success of space solar farm stations may be a game changer for the future of energy and peace.