China Plans To Build 'Three Gorges Dam Of Space' For Endless Solar Power
This initiative involves deploying a massive solar array one kilometre wide in geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometres above Earth.
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Weeks after announcing plans to construct the world's largest dam, China has now unveiled another ambitious project intending to harness solar power. Calling it "another Three Gorges Dam project above the Earth", as per a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP), the concept has been outlined by Long Lehao, a prominent Chinese rocket scientist. This initiative involves deploying a massive solar array one kilometre wide in geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometres above Earth, where it can collect solar energy uninterruptedly, unaffected by the planet's day-night cycle or weather conditions.
Mr Long likened the potential energy generation of the project to that of the Three Gorges Dam, which currently produces around 100 billion kWh annually. Built on the Yangtze River, the Three Georges Dam is so massive that has slowed down Earth's rotation by 0.6 microseconds, as per NASA.
"We are working on this project now. It is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth. This is an incredible project to look forward to," said Mr Long.
"The energy collected in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth."
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The project's scale requires the development and deployment of super heavy rockets which means China's space technology capabilities will have to take massive jumps in the coming years. The Long March-9 (CZ-9), a reusable heavy-lift rocket developed by Mr Long's team is being touted as the launch vehicle for the project.
"While the CZ-5 is about 50 metres tall, the CZ-9 will reach 110 metres. A major use of the rocket will be the construction of space-based solar power stations," said Mr Long.
Notably, CZ-9 can carry up to 150 tonnes to low Earth orbit, surpassing NASA's Saturn V and Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rockets, which have a capacity of 130 tonnes.
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While the concept by Mr Long appears straight out of a sci-fi novel, it is not the first time it has been floated. Space-based solar power stations collecting energy from the Sun in Earth's orbit and sending it to the ground is referred to internationally as the “Manhattan Project” of the energy sector.
The idea has been discussed in scientific circles for decades. However, China's plan represents one of the most concrete steps towards actualising this vision.