Cost vs. benefits studies
ESA commissioned in early 2022, two independent cost vs. benefits studies of Space Based Solar Power for terrestrial energy needs from Frazer-Nash in the UK and Roland Berger in Germany.
The aim of the studies were to provide ESA and its Member States with the necessary technical and programmatic information regarding the feasibility and potential of Space-Based Solar Power to provide environmentally sustainable, affordable and clean energy for Europe to meet its growing future energy needs and 2050 Net Zero goal.
The studies were completed in August 2022 and both concluded that:
- SBSP could provide competitively-priced electricity to European homes and businesses by 2040, displacing fossil-fuel sources of power and complementing existing renewables such as solar PV and wind, reducing the need for large-scale storage solutions.
- When deployed at scale, SBSP would provide substantial environmental, economic, and strategic benefits for Europe, including energy security.
- A lot of challenging technology developments are still needed to mature the feasibility of collecting gigawatts of power in space, per satellite, and delivering it efficiently and safely to users on Earth. But Europe has the main building blocks already and developments in the required technology areas will have widespread applications both on Earth and in space.
- If Europe is to benefit from this game-changing capability in time to make a difference for Climate, awareness raising, especially amongst the energy sector and public authorities, and further investments in technology R&D, are needed now.
Space-Based Solar Power appears to have strong benefits as a complementary energy source alongside terrestrial renewable energies in our path towards decarbonisation. But it also has many challenges, both technical and non-technical, that would need to be addressed to provide sufficient confidence prior to any decision in 2025 to undertake a full development programme. Therefore, to further investigate and understand the technical feasibility and costs associated with Space Based Solar Power, ESA is proposing a new small, but significant programme called SOLARIS to be undertaken between 2023 – 2025. Results from SOLARIS will then allow Europe to take an informed decision in 2025 about whether or not it wants to pursue this capability further.
