Mirrors In Space Could Boost Solar Power Production On Earth
LONDON ⁘ A California-based startup wants to launch a constellation of orbiting mirrors, which will beam sunlight to solar power plants to boost renewable electricity production after dark. A prototype light-reflecting satellite could make its way to orbit next year.
Ben Nowack, the founder and CEO of Reflect Orbital, introduced the company's plans at the International Conference on Energy from Space, held here last week.
Reflect Orbital envisions a constellation of 57 small satellites orbiting Earth in a formation in sun-synchronous polar orbit, at an altitude of 370 miles (600 kilometers). In that orbit, the satellites would circle the planet from pole to pole while the planet rotates underneath them. The satellites would fly over each spot on Earth at the same time of the day, making two passes per 24 hours. Combined, the 57 satellites would provide an additional 30 minutes of sunshine to the power plants, at the time when energy is most needed, Nowack said.
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"It's very easy to replace the first 1% of the energy grid with renewables," said Nowack. "It's very hard to replace the last 1%. That is the energy that you need on a day that is not windy but rainy."
"We want to make it as easy as possible ⁘ like, log into a website, tell us your GPS coordinates and we get you some sunlight after dark," said Nowack.
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