Sci-fi solar-power stations in space get government backing

UK is funding research into deploying an operational system by 2050

The UK Space Agency has commissioned research into space-based solar-power systems with the eventual aim of supplying non-stop renewable energy to anywhere on the planet.

Led by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, the study will examine the idea of using very large solar-power satellites to collect solar energy, convert it into high-frequency radio waves and safely beam it back to ground-based receivers connected to the electrical power grid.