China’s solar manufacturing industry on Tuesday launched a so-called Space Energy Development Alliance as the Chinese solar sector looks to conquering new frontiers amid oversupply at home.
At this year’s SNEC PV+ conference in Shanghai, one of the biggest solar industry gatherings in the world, Chinese manufacturers launched the platform, but were stingy on details about projects or missions in the race to harness solar power in space.
GCL Technology Holdings Ltd, Trina Solar Co, and Shi Zhengrong, founder of Suntech Power Holdings Co, are part of the alliance which includes more than a dozen founding members and manufacturers.
Earlier this year, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association cooled excessive enthusiasm about space solar energy, with executive secretary general Liu Yiyang telling local media that “The enthusiasm for new technologies currently remains mostly confined to research reports and capital market activities.”
China is competing with the U.S. for breakthroughs in solar energy in space, but its solar manufacturing companies are also looking to tap a potential vast new market following years of overcapacity and oversupply at home that have depressed profit margins.
China’s solar exports have surged since the war in the Middle East crippled oil and gas supply and prompted governments and developers to accelerate – where possible – the rollout of solar and wind capacity additions.
At the same time, Chinese scientists last month boasted a breakthrough in space-based wireless power transmission. Researchers from the ‘Sun Chasing Project’ successfully tested a ground-based system capable of wirelessly transmitting power to multiple moving targets simultaneously, which could advance development of solar energy from space.
China plans to carry out low-Earth-orbit technology verification tests by 2030, Chinese media report. A megawatt-scale in-orbit test could be performed around 2030. The ultimate goal would be to build a commercial gigawatt-scale space solar power station by 2050 to beam clean energy directly to Earth.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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