Costs of distribution and storage offset reductions from scale up of terrestrial solar energy
Solar and wind are projected to get cheaper each year, yet retail electric rates are expected to stay the same. If electricity is increasingly generated using cheaper power sources while reducing expensive fuels like natural gas, why won't rates come down?
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has a report from 2022 called the Retail Rate Projections for Long Term Electric System Models [1] that provides some insight. Figure 4 shows a breakdown of retail electricity costs.
The simple answer is that through 2050, the decrease in fuel costs is expected to be replaced by increases in grid transmission and distribution costs. These are upgrades necessary to smooth out variation in terrestrial renewable energy production. If more renewables are added, cost and complexity will grow faster because of increasing needs for balancing and energy storage [2][3].
Space based solar power (SBSP) can solve these problems cheaper than alternatives. It can eliminate the projected fuel cost and increased transmission/distribution costs.
Public analyses show that SBSP can produce power at costs competitive with renewables [4][5][6] (and we have a plan to beat those numbers! 😉). As a generation source, SBSP provides firm, clean, and renewable power. Since power is always available regardless of time of day, weather, or season, grid upgrades and energy storage are not an issue. Additionally, since space based solar power can beam power anywhere, it can be redirected to where its needed. This reduces the need for a grid that "is long enough to reach the sun" [7]. These make it possible for space based solar to deliver more power at less cost and less environmental impact.
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References
[1] - National Renewable Energy Laboratory Retail Rate Projections for Long Term Electric System Models - https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/78224.pdf
[2] - EASE - The European Association for Storage of Energy - Energy Storage Targets 2030 and 2050 - https://ease-storage.eu/publication/energy-storage-targets-2030-and-2050/
[3] - Electric Insights 2019 Q3 - https://reports.electricinsights.co.uk/q3-2019/how-much-energy-storage-will-we-need/
[4] - Frazer-Nash Consultancy - SBSP Executive Summary - https://www.fnc.co.uk/media/e15ing0q/frazer-nash-sbsp-executive-summary-final.pdf
[5] - Roland Berger - Space Solar Power - https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Insights/Publications/Space-based-Solar-Power.html
[6] - Oliver Wyman - Space Based Energy - https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2023/mar/a-space-based-energy-addition-to-move-the-world-to-net-zero.html
[7] - BloombergNEF - A Power Grid Long Enough to Reach the Sun Is Key to the Climate Fight - https://about.bnef.com/blog/a-power-grid-long-enough-to-reach-the-sun-is-key-to-the-climate-fight/
