Space-based solar power (SBSP) is emerging as a promising frontier, helping the world achieve net zero goals and revolutionize the renewable energy sector.

Once considered a dystopian sci-fi concept from Isaac Asimov’s 1941 fiction, space-based solar power is on its trajectory of becoming a potential 2050 reality due to decreased operational costs and climate-driven urgency to phase out fossil fuels.

SBSP involves using massive satellite constellations in high-earth orbit to capture constant sunlight and beam it to Earth as electricity.

A new study commissioned by the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) reported that small-scale SBSP has the potential to compete with other commercial power sources as early as 2040, if they are connected to the grid through existing infrastructure.

According to proponents it could reduce Europe’s need for land-based renewables by 80 percent by 2050.

Dr Adam Law, a research associate in the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) at Loughborough University said, “SBSP can provide a dispatchable baseload of potentially limitless power that avoids the problem of intermittency, driven by the weather conditions and outdated grid system.”

“SBSP benefits from there being much more sunlight available in space – 1,367 W/m2 of uninterrupted sunlight, compared to a maximum of 1,000 W/m2 at the equator and an average of about 100 W/m2 in the UK, and satellites in the right orbit see the sun almost all the time,” he added.

Despite lowering the launch-related costs, it would not be easy to establish the SBSP systems. Developing the first gigawatt-scale prototype is estimated to cost approximately €15.8 billion in research and development.

Besides having high initial costs, SBSP systems are also ridden with technical and environmental challenges.

NASA warns that the SBSP system could increase carbon footprint instead of reducing it. The emissions may be comparable to existing renewables.

The massive size of the satellites will also increase the risk of orbital collisions, thereby causing more space debris. The power beam is another frontier to be worried about. Experts argue its intensity is low enough to be safe for humans and wildlife.

SBSP systems also pose serious security and geopolitical risks.

According to the experts. SBSP satellites could become “tempting targets” for rival countries and cybercriminals.

According to Frazer-Nash, a consultancy company that released a report on SBSP’s security challenges, “Like other critical national infrastructure, it is a tempting target for cybercriminals, state-sponsored actors, and hacktivists seeking to cause disruption or gain geopolitical advantage.”

Therefore, there is the need for built-in security and multinational collaboration to protect these infrastructures from hostile attacks.