Space-Based Solar Farms

This will drastically decrease humanity's dependence on fossil fuels for energy, and take a step towards renewable energy

The Space-based Solar Farm will be responsible for harvesting energy from space and sending it to Earth by using an innovative laser-microwave hybrid wireless energy transfer system. This will be done by two main components, the solar farm in space and the collector on Earth at a designated station. The satellite itself will be Geocentric, meaning that it will essentially be above the collector at all times. When the sunlight is first collected by the solar farm, it will be beamed back to the collector in pulses when there are no clouds and the humidity is low, and a microwave when there are clouds present or the humidity is high. In cases of a storm, the laser-microwave hybrid pulse will be used to ensure some, albeit low, amounts of energy are received to keep the houses supplied with electricity. When the solar farm is in eclipse mode (When there is virtually no sunlight to harvest), the solar farms will create a network by recalibrating their lasers and transferring energy amongst the different solar farms. Once enough energy is collected by the solar farm itself, the laser then will be recalibrated again to transmit the energy to the collector

The specific problem we are trying to solve is the dependency of humans on fossil fuels such as coal, and petroleum. The current state of our environment is disastrous, as the amount of CO2 produced by firing coal and petrol for energy is humongous, and is causing global warming, which gives rise to several consequences such as climate change. Currently, the entirety of the world's population is under the threat of rising CO2 levels and temperature. 

The solution we have provided will serve to decrease CO2 emissions, and there are several other provisions. The project will initially start with 7-10 solar farms, with each one being placed in major cities around the world. After this stage will provide us with enough capital to make another solar farm, we will slowly expand operations all around the world. Several areas and people who cannot afford to pay for electricity will either have it subsidized or not have to pay for it entirely. We will be cooperating closely with governments from several third-world nations to provide for the poor people and the rest of the people who can afford to pay for their bills within 20 to 30 percent of their monthly salary or income will be made to pay the full price of the bill paid. In rural areas, the electricity will be provided free of cost to provide the area an opportunity to develop in the future

At this stage, there has been almost no contact with our potential user base as we are still operating in the theoretical boundaries of the hybrid energy transfer technology and smoothening out the details about the next 5-year plan

We are currently doing the theoretical framework and building a blueprint for the core technology for this project, which will be the hybrid wireless energy transfer system. Once we actually receive funding or get some money to start my research, we will be building a prototype of the hybrid energy transfer system and testing it for efficiency.

The core technology that powers the project is the laser-microwave hybrid wireless energy transfer system (LMHWETS) which will be responsible for the transfer of energy from the solar farm above the Karmán Line to the ground-based Collectors. This is done by a laser and a microwave that is powered by a relay system connected to the power storage which gets energy from the solar farm itself. The relays are remotely operated by personnel working at the Collector. The energy will be beamed back to the collector in laser pulses when there are no clouds and the humidity is low, and a microwave when there are clouds present or high humidity. In cases of a storm, the laser-microwave hybrid pulse will be used to ensure some, albeit low, amounts of energy are received to keep the houses supplied with electricity. There will be a secondary laser present along with the primary laser to ensure that energy is supplied to every solar farm, even when they are in "eclipse" mode. This will be done by activating the secondary laser after a solar farm is not in contact with sunlight. The laser pulse will be projected towards the "eclipsed" solar farm to provide it the energy, and this will cause a network to be established. In Initial Operating Capacity, the solar farms will not be able to connect to each other through this method, but once Partial/Full Operating Capacity is reached, each unit will connect to each other through this method

At the moment, due to there being no functional prototype present, there is no target audience that has been offered our services. But by the time the functioning prototype is sent into LEO for field testing, we will be providing electricity to 47 to 52 homes for a day at IOC(Initial Operating Capacity). Once Full Operating Capacity is reached, we are looking at a 270 to 300% increase in the number of users per unit from IOC. This number will only increase exponentially as we start to produce more units for the solar farm and then finally establish the "energy web", the stage where all the solar farms are exchanging energy to provide sufficient electricity to each and every Collector unit on Earth.

We aim to procure funding via a grant with which we aim to create a working prototype within the next year. The hope is that this will ignite further interest in achieving SDG-7 where there is affordable access to energy for everyone. A working prototype of this technology will prove to organisations, governments, and companies worldwide that there are viable solutions to the energy crisis that do not involve fossil fuels or carbon emissions. This will also entice people to commit to researching cleaner alternatives and push for legislative support in favour of clean energy and fundraising for other projects concerned with renewable energy. This should, in theory, lead to a cascade in which people worldwide will wake up to the gravity of the situation and the limited time humanity has to develop solutions and this project along with other related projects may inspire hope for the masses in that there are solutions that humanity can support and rally around to solve the energy crisis. This hinges on first showing the people that it is, in fact, possible, with a working prototype that can start development and construction once finances have been sorted in the short term.

We have a proper roadmap set up for measuring the progress of this project, which has several indicators that are set for each year. Currently, our first milestone is the procurement of funds for research on the core technology, which is the laser-microwave hybrid wireless energy transfer system (LMHWETS). After the LMHWETS technology has been fine-tuned to its specific requirements, we will be starting the testing of the equipment by running it in cycles to ensure high efficiency is maintained for the entirety of the duration of the solar farm operation. We will also be testing the efficiency of energy transfers through clouds as well as a storm by running simulations in our laboratory. After we are finished with all the tests, we will be moving on to the production of the exterior of the harvester, the software, and the hardware required to operate the key parts of the solar farm harvester, including the core technology. Our main goal that corresponds with the SDGs is SDG 7, which is the provision of clean and affordable energy to all strata of society

The three biggest barriers we currently face are financial support, lack of technical knowledge, and COVID-19. Financial Support is probably the single biggest problem that we are going through as we have all the theories sorted out, however, we do not have money that we can spend on the research we are doing on the core technology. Our parents have tight control over the finances, and we come from the UAE, where the laws are strict for underage employment. It certainly is difficult to get the research done without money, but in the meantime, we have finished the theory. The next biggest barrier is the limit in our technical knowledge. This poses another big problem as such projects are often spearheaded by more than 50 people, if not more. And doing all the tasks by 5 people is proving to be quite an arduous task. The last barrier is something we cannot do anything about, the COVID-19 pandemic. It makes it hard for us to find people that may be interested in such a project as there is still a strict restriction over events we may go to find people who are interested in our project.

I, ShivNaveed Raina, have been working on the project for almost 2 years and 7 months now. I have done a lot of competitions that require making simulations in space and pitching them to judges as part of a fictitious company (The Space Settlement Design Competition). I have also worked in one competition for developing a prototype of a project I was working on in my old school. I was not able to finish the prototype, resulting in a forfeit from the competition I took part in.

I, Ehab Issa, am also highly qualified in this project as we all have both worked together to develop the theory of the Space Solar Farm, and my forte in the project is theoretical verification as I've taken numerous online courses.

I, Joytish Ramesh Kumar, have received 3 interstate gold olympiad medals at ages 9, 10 and 12. I have partaken in many other similar competitions and find them quite challenging and enjoyable to take on. This project has forced and inspired me to think of innovative diversions that might guide our world to a better future. 

I, Hani Abu Shaban, have participated in a solar energy club and have developed the knowledge to understand what is needed to use solar panels efficiently and in what conditions they can be used. Being a part of the research team for this solution made me open my mind to newer ways solar panels can be used efficiently outside of Earth

I, Amro Bakhit, am qualified as I have developed a strong understanding for solar panels and how their benefits to the world can extend beyond this world. As a part of the research, this opportunity allows me to give my knowledge to this project and effectively expand this worlds energy source. 

We are not partnering with any organizations as of date due to the fact that we have not had any opportunities to collaborate.

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