QAZAQ GREEN.  British startup plans to supply solar power from space to Icelanders by 2030, in what could be the world's first demonstration of this novel renewable energy source, Space.com reports.

The space solar power project, announced on Monday (Oct. 21), is a partnership between U.K.-based Space Solar, Reykjavik Energy and Icelandic sustainability initiative Transition Labs.

It intends to launch a demonstrator satellite by 2030, which will beam to Earth 30 megawatts of clean energy — enough to power about 3,000 homes.

The power-beaming satellite will weigh 70.5 tons (64 metric tons), be about 1,312 feet (400 meters) wide (including its solar arrays) and circle the planet in medium Earth orbit, a near-space region at altitudes between 1,241 miles and 22,000 miles (2,000 and 36,000 kilometers).

By 2036, the partners want to build a fleet of six such space-based solar power stations, capable of supplying gigawatts of clean electricity to users on Earth 24/7 regardless of weather. By the mid-2040s, Space Solar's orbiting power plants could be delivering over 15 gigawatts of energy.    

Space Solar said the development and manufacturing of the pilot plant will cost $800 million. The system will provide electricity at about one-quarter the cost of nuclear power, at $2.25 billion per gigawatt, the company added, making it competitive with Earth-based renewable sources. Unlike photovoltaics and wind turbines on Earth's surface, the orbiting power stations will not suffer from intermittency — a major drawback of conventional renewable power generation. They will produce electricity constantly, regardless of the time of day or weather conditions.