Japan aims to beam solar power from space by 2025

Tokyo: Japan is gearing up for a groundbreaking endeavor in space-based solar energy as it aims to beam solar power from space by 2025.

Building on a successful milestone achieved in 2015, the country, in partnership with JAXA (Japan's space administration), is determined to advance the technology's feasibility.

Led by Kyoto University professor Naoki Shinohara, a Japanese public-private partnership will launch small satellites into orbit to test the transmission of solar energy to ground-based receiving stations hundreds of miles away.

The concept of using orbital solar panels and microwaves for power transmission was proposed in 1968, and countries like China and the US have since explored its potential.

Space-based solar arrays offer an attractive solution, as they can collect energy around the clock without being affected by weather conditions.

However, the technology's practicality remains a challenge.

Producing a 1-gigawatt array, equivalent to a nuclear reactor's output, would currently cost around $7 billion.