Eco Factor: Space-solar plant to be constructed by 2016. California’s state legislators have finally given a green light to the first-of-its-kind space-based solar project. California’s biggest energy utility PG&E has announced that they would purchase 200MW of solar power that will be beamed from space by 2016. The experimental solar plant will make use of orbiting satellites equipped with solar cells that transform the sun’s energy into electricity. Electricity generated by the process would

be converted into radio frequency transmittable energy, which will be collected by a receiving station in Fresno, California, before being transferred to PG&E’s power grid. The developers of this ingenious project estimate that the panels will generate about 1700GWh of energy annually, which can be used to power up to 250,000 average homes. Via: Inhabitat

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Eco Tech: First space-based solar project gets California’s green light