The article is actually discussing a feasibility study for the far future (25 years from now as per the article):

For the first time, researchers from King’s College London have assessed the possible impact that generating solar energy in space could have for Europe. They found it could cut energy battery storage needs by more than two-thirds.

The study, published in Joule, analysed the potential of a design by NASA for solar generation, which is planned to be in use by 2050. The findings show the design could also save money by reducing the cost of the whole power system in Europe by up to 15%, including energy generation, storage and network infrastructure costs – an estimated saving of 35.9 billion euros per year.

Space-based solar power generation involves in-space continuous collection of solar energy. This involves placing large solar panels on satellites in orbit, where they are exposed to much more sunlight and can continuously collect energy without being affected by clouds or the day-night cycle. This energy would then be transmitted to one or more stations on Earth. It is then converted to electricity and delivered to the energy grid or batteries for storage.

It's a cool idea and I'd imagine we'd need an array spanning the globe rather than just over one continent

Fusion does not exist and wouldn't be in time if we started buildong commercial plants today. Low lead time is the only shot we have.

Space based solar has already been demonstrated, but will not provide substantial power since the receiver is basically a giant solar array and dead zone where life gets toasted.

In short. Presumably the idea would be to 1. only beam down what is needed, and 2. have it replace fossil fuels, which are very much responsible for the change in the planet's energy imbalance.

It would also reduce the energy cost of less efficient 'on Earth' solar arrays, which have problems like intermittency that orbital solar panels wouldn't have.

IF this is anywhere near technically feasible it seems like exploring the idea publicly like this isn't a bad thing.

BUT, after a couple decades of watching proposed miracle tech going nowhere, I can say that ultimately hopium really isn't healthy: we needed to get real a decade or two (or three or four) ago. Relying on non-functioning future tech like carbon capture/storage (or this, if it isn't actually feasible) is nothing more than justification for not making necessary changes now.

Trivial amounts compared to the solar energy hitting the entire surface of half the Earth.

The problem isn’t incoming energy, it’s outgoing energy. Greenhouse gases reduce the amount of energy radiated back into space and that’s what increases the mean global temperature.

Adding a few hundred square miles of surface area wouldn’t change much.

RD1 generates power 99% of the year and collects solar radiation by autonomously redirecting its reflectors toward a concentrator to focus sunlight throughout each day. RD2 uses flat panels, with solar cells facing away from Earth and microwave emitters facing toward the Earth. RD2 generates power 60% of the year due to its limited capability to reposition itself or redirect solar radiation toward its solar cells.

ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20…

Yeah this article is severely lacking in any concrete details.

I'd also like to know how exactly it is that they plan to deploy massive arrays of solar panels to space. Most earth-based solar farms are huge and take up entire fields, some are a few kilometres across in size. That's many orders of magnitude more massive than anything we've previously ever launched.

Plus whatever power transmission system they come up with would have to be powerful to be of any use but if it's that powerful would present an active danger and would effectively constitute a space-based weapon system.

It's a cool sci-fi idea but it is all pie in the sky.

Back of the napkin math:

Largest solar sail (much lighter than panels, but doesn't produce electricity) 2000 sq meters

200w/sq meter

400kwp

Also iirc the space solar farms plans I've seen call for re radiating the energy back via microwaves to dedicated receiving towers on the ground

Yeah I've seen that. Microwave power beaming would work in theory it's just electromagnetic radiation after all. But the vast majority of it is going to get absorbed by water molecules, because that's what microwave radiation does, that's why it cooks your food.

They're probably going to bake a lot of seagulls as well.

Sometimes investigation means finding out about all of the crimes committed. Not just the ones you definitely know about.

Although in this case it probably is just political assassination because trump's decided he's falling out with musk.

how

Not at all. The whole world knows that by now.