The European Space Agency is investigating whether orbiting solar arrays could beam renewable energy to Earth, as shown in this artist’s illustration.Credit: European SPS Tower concept
For 100 years, people have dreamed of sending vast arrays of solar panels into space and beaming their energy down to Earth. Unlike intermittent renewable-energy sources on the ground, these orbiting panels would always bask in bright sunlight and would potentially offer a continuous supply of power.Now such schemes are beginning to look possible, thanks to cheaper hardware and the falling cost of space launches. Teams around the world are working on key parts of space-based solar-power systems, and a prototype built by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) should begin experiments in orbit this month.“There’s nothing outlandish…