Yes, it’s true. Recently, a major Japanese construction firm proposed using the moon as a major solar power supplier. The Research and Development team at a company called Shimizu has suggested building a ‘belt of solar panels’ across the moon’s equator.
At an estimated 19 km wide and 11,000 km long, the solar power belt has been dubbed the ‘Luna Ring’ by its creators. How would it work? The belt’s solar power cells that are closest to the sun would turn the sunlight into electricity, and then this power would be transported via cables to the side of the moon facing our Earth. When the power arrives at this side, it would reach energy transmission facilities, where it would then convert the electricity into microwave and laser power. That energy would then be beamed to receiving stations on Earth, where our conversion facilities would convert it into electrical power, and distribute to where it is needed.
Sounds a little futuristic, but solar power experts are saying that this ‘out there’ idea is actually achievable. Much of the technology that the idea would involve already exists and is in great usage - photovoltaic panels, microwave transmission and lasers, and ‘remotely guided’ robots to work on the belt on the moon’s surface.
So will we see the moon giving us solar power in our lifetime? Tetsuji Yoshida, part of the team advocating the Luna Ring, states, ‘My very optimistic forecast is 25 years [before we can even begin the lunar surface activity’. Shimizu’s president hopes to pitch the idea to investors with a start date on the moon of 2035, but he too admits that this may be a little optimistic.
Whether a close date is optimistic or not, this solar power project is certainly one to keep tabs on.
