Japan’s OHISAMA Project Aims to Beam Solar Power from Space This Year

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Japan could be on the cusp of making history with its OHISAMA project in its quest to become the first country to transmit solar power from space to Earth, The Volt reported.

Developed by Japan Space Systems, the ambitious initiative seeks to harness the sun’s energy in space and beam it back to Earth, potentially revolutionizing the generation and distribution of clean energy. The project aims to be operational later this year, and if successful, the landmark project could see space-based solar power (SBSP) as an additional source of clean, continuous electricity.

The plan is to launch a 180-kilogram satellite into low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 400 kilometers. Equipped with a 2-square-meter photovoltaic (PV) panel, the satellite will convert solar energy into electricity, store it in onboard batteries, and then beam it as microwave energy to a receiving station on Earth.

Although the system will transmit only 1 kilowatt—enough to power a small appliance — at the April 2024 International Conference on Energy from Space in London, Japan Space Systems adviser Koichi Ijichi said, “This mission marks a pivotal step towards realizing space-based solar power stations that could provide clean energy irrespective of weather conditions on Earth,” Space.com reported.

A January 2024 NASA report raised concerns about cost and excessive greenhouse gases produced by rockets launching assemblies into orbit, which the report stated could threaten to tip the scales, making SBSP much less climate-friendly than Earth-based technologies.

However, RatedPower reported that advances in launch vehicles, solar panels, and wireless transmission could gradually make SBSP viable, given that orbital systems can generate up to 13 times more energy than ground-based panels, potentially matching the output of nuclear plants.

Japan hopes OHISAMA will pave the way for future gigawatt-scale SBSP systems to deliver around-the-clock, weatherproof renewable power from space.