The energy crisis that is starting to make itself felt on our planet, could be given a boost by the entire universe: within a few decades electricity should arrive from space. The ambitious project will be presented shortly by the Japanese Government. The plan provides for the construction of satellites capable of sending energy to Earth.The system, according to what the Tokyo Government has announced through the space division manager of the ministry of Economy and Industry (METI) Osami Takenouchi, should become operative before 2040.
The plan means to use a satellite equipped with two huge solar panels with a diameter of a kilometer, weighing around 20.000 tons and placed into geostationary orbit, 36.000 km from Earth. The expected cost is of about 2.000 billion yen (18 billion Euro).
The space system will be able to generate a million Kilowatts, that is the equivalent of a nuclear station, but with a cost per kilowatt of 23 yen an hour, which is more expensive than the nuclear or thermal energy produced today in Japan, costing around 9 yen. The satellite will be able to generate electricity day and night.
The electricity thus produced will be transferred onto the Earth through microwaves emitted from an aerial a thousand meters long. The energy will arrive at various large receptors (of the diameter of quite a few kilometers) installed in deserts or in the middle of the sea.
