EPRI
Stephen Stella is EPRI Senior Manager of R&D Thought Leadership.
Solar energy plays a key role in the clean energy transition, and it continues to grow quickly. In 2023, solar comprised about four percent of the nation's total electricity capacity from utility-scale sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. By 2025, EIA forecasts U.S. solar will grow by another seventy-five percent. However, intermittency caused by clouds and nighttime remains a major issue, and EPRI continues to research potential solutions.
One out-of-this-world option is space, where the sun is always shining. The challenge, however, lies in getting this space-based solar power (SBSP) safely and efficiently back to Earth. EPRI is always looking for ways to innovate as part of the energy transition, and we've begun monitoring SBSP research, and the advances needed to enable this technology.
J.D. Readle, an EPRI researcher studying SBSP's potential, has just authored a white paper outlining current understandings of the power-beaming aspects involved in bringing SBSP to reality. Our interactive EPRI Insight on the topic outlines currently understood opportunities and challenges, along with an in-depth list of questions and answers.