>the rectenna is typically an elliptical shape at UK latitudes, measuring about 6.7km x 13km. To put this in context, this represents a power density of about 29W/m2, requiring one third of the area compared to the equivalent terrestrial solar power. Terrestrial solar in the UK has an average power density of just 10W/m2, including diurnal and weather factors.
So, we either build a massive orbiting power station with the maintenance, cost, and reliability impacts thereof or we...build 3x bigger solar fields? Not having enough room for solar has never really been the problem, the transmission system upgrades to get the power from solar producing regions to net consuming regions and the battery storage required for frequency support are the issues, neither of which this seems to solve.
So, we either build a massive orbiting power station with the maintenance, cost, and reliability impacts thereof or we...build 3x bigger solar fields? Not having enough room for solar has never really been the problem, the transmission system upgrades to get the power from solar producing regions to net consuming regions and the battery storage required for frequency support are the issues, neither of which this seems to solve.