cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/144526

US Congress Breaks Ground on Space-Based Solar Power: A Small but Significant Victory for Space Exploration Enthusiasts

  • FantasticFox@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It seems like it has very marginal use cases though - basically beaming power to remote communities that don’t have access to a terrestrial power grid (which would almost certainly be cheaper) and may not be able to deploy their own systems like solar panels or wind turbines either due to lack of sun/wind or capability.

    So I imagine for temporary bases for the military or research it could be useful. Perhaps for communities in developing nations too, much like Starlink has helped those people with Internet access.

    But for general use it seems it would be far too expensive compared to terrestrial sources to ever be worthwhile.