SBSP Satellites Are Scalable Today
In 2023, which products could completely cover Los Angeles?
At 10 square kilometers, there are enough silicon wafers produced to cover the city of West Hollywood two times. [1][2]
There are 43 square kilometers of sheet steel produced annually. That is enough to cover most of Torrance with a roof. [3]
290 square kilometers of circuit board substrate is made annually. This is enough to cover all of Malibu and have some left over. [4]
There are enough LCD displays, 328 square km, to cover Long Beach, Glendale and Pomona. [4]
All of Los Angeles could be covered, TWICE, by the global production of solar modules. The 379 GW of modules produced in 2022 will cover 2,526 square kilometers of land. This is more than half a million acres. [5]
Finally, enough sheet glass is produced annually, 11,200 square km, to cover Los Angeles more than 8 times! That's enough to completely cover Rhode Island and Delaware. [6]
These are all fun facts and provide a visualization of the scale of global industry.
The reason I'm highlighting is because space based solar power will require large amounts of electronics. This data shows that manufacturing hardware for space based solar power will only require incremental growth. This is why now is the time to develop clean, renewable, firm energy using space based solar power.
References
[1] https://www.laalmanac.com/geography/ge10.php
[2] https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/global-silicon-wafer-shipments-projected-to-set-new-record-in-2022-semi-reports/
[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/861584/production-of-hot-rolled-steel-products-globally/
[4] https://reversepcb.com/pcb-substrate/
[5] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1057441/display-panel-production-capacity-type/#statisticContainer
[6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/668764/annual-solar-module-manufacturing-globally/ assuming 150W per sq meter production
[7] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1003488/selected-figures-about-the-global-flat-glass-industry/
