Overview

• King’s College London published the first Europe-focused assessment in Joule, integrating a NASA space-solar concept into a 33‑country power‑grid model.
• The study finds space-based solar power could replace up to 80% of land-based renewables and cut battery storage needs by more than two-thirds.
• Researchers estimate total system costs could fall by up to 15%, or about €35.9 billion per year, when generation, storage and networks are considered together.
• The modeling analyzes NASA’s heliostat-style design and notes unmodeled space risks, including orbital congestion, debris hazards, transmission interruptions and beaming variability.
• The authors cite high current costs and technical hurdles, discuss a near-term planar array versus a higher-performing heliostat approach, and point to potential multinational coordination drawing on Europe’s ESA experience and Japan’s efforts.