We’ve heard millions of times that climate change is bad, and we need to do something. But how much has actually been done? Governments have been incentivizing the transition towards electric cars, and conferences have been held to discuss climate change. Our new solution will put all of those to shame.
First, what is the problem? Electricity production was responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. 60% of electricity production is done by fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, which generates greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases heat up the planet, and contribute to climate change, which causes a bunch of other bad things. If we can tackle the electricity problem, we can theoretically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%.
This problem sounds really big and hard to tackle. So what’s our idea? Our idea, named GoldenEye Solar, is to have satellites deployed in space (more specifically, in geosynchronous orbit) with solar panels on them. They would also have antennas, which can beam down 30 Mhz waves to Earth, where the energy can be received by receivers on Earth. This can result in a much more efficient, cleaner way of generating electricity. This statement still leaves many questions left unanswered, though.
Aren’t satellites expensive?
Yes, they are. However, most of the cost is for the launch. Based on trends in launch pricing, we expect this cost to become substantially less. In the 1980s, the NASA Space Shuttle cost $65 000 USD per kilogram to launch. Now, the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket costs only $1500 USD per kilogram to launch. If this trend continues, then the cost could become only $366 per kilogram in only 10 years.
How much would the launch cost?
We will use perovskite solar cells, which are known for being very light and efficient. With a power per watt of 230 watts per gram (instead of 22 watts per gram with other solar cell technologies), we could power the entire United States (around 3940 terawatt-hours, or 450 Gigawatts in 2021) with $716 million USD (around 1.956 million kg at $366 per kilogram). It sounds like a lot, and that’s because it is a lot. Compared with the costs of other solar cell technologies, which would cost $7.5 billion USD (around 20.5 million kg at $366 per kilogram), our solution seems cheap. However, compared with costs of an oil refinery, which would cost around $5 billion just for 0.407 terawatt-hours of power, our solution seems unrealistically cheap. There are many energy companies which are able to invest this amount of money into a project, especially when it can yield such an impactful result.
This sounds unrealistic. How are we going to get radio waves from space down to Earth?
This concept has been done for a long time. GPS uses electromagnetic waves from satellites orbiting the Earth to find your location. Wifi uses electromagnetic waves to send data through your walls from your router to reach your computer. The only difference is that we will be using electromagnetic waves to send energy, instead of data.
Why are we sending exactly 30 Mhz waves?
The ionosphere (a part of the atmosphere between our satellite and the ground) reflects any waves at a frequency below 30 Mhz. Also, a lower frequency allows for less energy loss over long distances, which we definitely need.
How will it be launched?
The satellites will be put on a rocket, and flown into geosynchronous orbit, where the satellites will use their thrusters to get into their correct position. Geosynchronous orbit is a part of the atmosphere where the object stays over almost the same area on Earth. It won’t move East or West, but it could move North or South. We can correct this using the thrusters. This means that we won’t have to make huge changes to the antenna rotation, which is a lot easier for the satellites. The type of thrusters we are looking at, plasma propulsion engines, can run off of just electricity, which is something we will have a lot of once this is deployed.
Our solution can change the world. Combine that with the cost, and it’s a complete no-brainer. Hopefully we can see this implemented in the next 5–10 years, and finally see an end to climate change.
