Space-Based Solar Energy: Economic Viability in the Context of Global Competition

The development of space-based solar energy (SBSP) in the last decade goes beyond scientific and technical experiments and acquires the features of an emerging sector of the global economy. In contrast to the works focused on technological aspects or the environmental agenda, the study considers SBSP as an area of intersection of long-term investment strategies, national priorities of energy security and new market opportunities. The subject of the analysis is the country models of SBSP development, their institutional design and economic parameters determining the prospects for the orbital stations’ commercialization. The purpose of the work is to identify the dominant national strategies in the sphere of space energy and to determine the threshold values of indicators ensuring its economic feasibility. The relevance of the topic is due to the intensification of programs in the United States, China, Japan, India, Russia and the European Union, which consider SBSP as a tool for reducing dependence on traditional energy carriers and consolidating technological leadership. The methodological framework includes comparative country analysis, modeling with the decomposition of factor influences on LCOE, as well as analysis of strategic documents and reporting data. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the classification of national approaches to the development of CSE, built on the basis of the analysis of financing sources and mechanisms, as well as in the adaptation of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) methodology to the specifics of space projects. The results of the study allow us to identify six strategic paradigms, from the American synergetic model based on private initiative to the conservative evolutionary position of Russia. Quantitative analysis confirms the main barrier to commercialization is not the efficiency of photovoltaic cells but the cost of launching a payload into orbit, setting benchmarks for long-term investment policy and technological development.

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