'A Bright Future For The Plant': Giant Solar Space Farm Could Be Orbiting Earth By 2035

A solar space farm designed to orbit above the Earth could be operational by 2035.

The 2km-long farm of solar panels would send energy to receivers on Earth much in the same way as mobile phone signals.

In space, the sun's beams are around ten times stronger than on Earth and can be captured 24 hours a day rather than just during daylight hours.

Last October, the European Space Agency (ESA) unveiled its plan for a solar farm that would float 36,000 km above the Earth.

"[Such a project] would ensure that Europe becomes a key player - and potentially leader - in the international race towards scalable clean energy solutions for mitigating climate change," the ESA said in a statement.

Solar space farm could be operational by 2035

The technology could become a vital power source for the UK as it uses half the land area of terrestrial solar farms and one-tenth of the area of offshore wind farms while producing 13 times more renewable energy.

"Space-based solar power has long been considered the ultimate clean energy source," Sam Alden, from Space Solar, told UK news network the BBC.

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The company's goal is "to deliver 20 per cent of Earth's energy supply using 600 satellites."

The UK government has earmarked £6m (€6.9m) for space solar research projects in Britain and a further £5m (€5.8m) for an international project called CASSIOPeiA studying space-based solar power.