Study: Space Solar Could Cut Europe's Energy Costs by 15%

AUG 21 2025·Updated AUG 22 2025

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Above: Solar panels are pictured near the village of Amareleja in Alentejo, Portugal, on Aug. 5, 2025. Image credit: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

King's College London researchers published a study in Joule journal Thursday showing that space-based solar power could reduce Europe's terrestrial renewable energy needs by 80% and cut total power system costs by 7-15% by 2050.
Cell
The Guardian
scienmag.com
The study analyzed two NASA designs — the Innovative Heliostat Swarm with continuous solar capture potential and the Mature Planar Array with 60% efficiency — compared to Earth-based solar panels with 15-30% efficiency.
Technology Networks
The Guardian
Space-based solar panels would orbit Earth continuously facing the sun, transmitting energy to ground stations via microwaves for conversion to electricity and grid integration. This would avoid weather and natural disaster disruptions.
Technology Networks
Air Quality News
One of the senior authors, Wei He, notes that solar radiation is much stronger in space than on Earth due to the vacuum of space, while noting the obstacles posed by collisions with debris and satellites. Space-based solar has been a proposal since 1968.
Bioengineer.org
The Guardian
For cost-effectiveness by 2050, the heliostat design would reportedly need costs 14 times higher than Earth-based solar panels, while the planar design would need costs 9 times higher than terrestrial alternatives.
Air Quality News
Technology Networks
Multiple countries, including China, India, Japan, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, are actively pursuing space-based solar power development as the technology transitions from concept to large-scale testing.
The National News
Technology Networks

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The Spin

Techno-optimist narrative

Space-based solar represents a game-changing breakthrough that could revolutionize Europe's energy future. The technology offers continuous power generation unaffected by weather, natural disasters, or day-night cycles. With a potential 80% reduction in terrestrial renewable needs and 15% cost savings, this innovation could accelerate net-zero goals while providing reliable baseload power.

Technology Networks

scienmag.com

Techno-skeptic narrative

Space-based solar energy remains prohibitively expensive, with costs currently 12 orders of magnitude above break-even points needed for viability. The technology faces massive technological hurdles — including wireless power transmission, orbital assembly, space debris risks and the cost of launching and maintaining these systems. Space solar is still a distant dream, and it's not yet economically sound.