Satellites to send solar energy back to Earth

Beaming solar engergy from a satellite

Will this happen? I don’t know.

But there’s a plan for an agreement between Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Solaren Corp. of Southern California, a somewhat mysterious startup.

PG&E is asking the state of California for permission to sign an agreement with Soaren to purchase up to 200 megawatts of power—which Solaren plans to beam to the earth from solar-power-collecting satellites.

Sound like science fiction to me, but the parties involved seem to think it’s doable. Who knows?

Difficult but doable

Solaren employs experienced satellite engineers, who worked in the past for the Air Force and Boeing. The company claims that collected solar power can be beamed down to a ground station in Fresno, California.

Gary Spirnak, the chief executive of Soaren admits the task is difficult. “We’re under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task,” he said. But he believes his company is up to the job.