David Homfray
@davidhomfray.bsky.social
Part time EastOxford, part time futureBoy. MyPersonalViews. Respect all people everywhere without prejudice or borders, they are u after all. #CitizenOfNowhere. CTO and cofounder of SpaceSolar.co.uk #SpaceBasedSolarPower #SBSP
If you are interested Space Solar are developing it. spacesolar.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 3:47 PM
If you are interested Space Solar are developing it. spacesolar.co.uk
Agreed we need to do it all and we need to do it now. It sounds like you are very convinced so I don't think anything I say will make much of a difference. I've worked in energy for 2 decades and on the World Economic Forum on New Energy, materials mining is a concern. diverse portfolio is resiliant
October 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Agreed we need to do it all and we need to do it now. It sounds like you are very convinced so I don't think anything I say will make much of a difference. I've worked in energy for 2 decades and on the World Economic Forum on New Energy, materials mining is a concern. diverse portfolio is resiliant
A recent study by Imperial College London showed 8GW of SBSP would save UK £4B/year of saving due to the reduction of over capaity building and other infrastructure. Interestingly SBSP didn't replace nuclear (you would have thought it would as its expensive), it replaced wind as it is less stable
October 15, 2025 at 12:28 PM
A recent study by Imperial College London showed 8GW of SBSP would save UK £4B/year of saving due to the reduction of over capaity building and other infrastructure. Interestingly SBSP didn't replace nuclear (you would have thought it would as its expensive), it replaced wind as it is less stable
Renewables and storage are incredibly important but it is difficult to see how you would be able to dig enough materials out of the ground to enable an only renewable future. It would be incredibly volumetrically challenging. Like most things the most resilient option is a diverse option
October 15, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Renewables and storage are incredibly important but it is difficult to see how you would be able to dig enough materials out of the ground to enable an only renewable future. It would be incredibly volumetrically challenging. Like most things the most resilient option is a diverse option
The economics have been studied by UK Gov and ESA with positive outcomes too. For the relatively low development cost, the time taken to derisk the subsystems and the valuable spinouts, it is an incredibly low risk technology to invest in.
October 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM
The economics have been studied by UK Gov and ESA with positive outcomes too. For the relatively low development cost, the time taken to derisk the subsystems and the valuable spinouts, it is an incredibly low risk technology to invest in.
CAPEX dominated by launch. Our key metric is kW(to grid)/kg(total launch mass). Overall system design optimised to reduce mass. Even with current technologies and $/kg launch cost we are around nuclear and as we optimise the design and launch cost reduced the economics are expected to get better
October 15, 2025 at 12:20 PM
CAPEX dominated by launch. Our key metric is kW(to grid)/kg(total launch mass). Overall system design optimised to reduce mass. Even with current technologies and $/kg launch cost we are around nuclear and as we optimise the design and launch cost reduced the economics are expected to get better
Hi there. Thanks for the article. Quite understand your scepticism. I am CTO of a company developing Space Based Solar Power and would be happy to show you why we have answers to all your valid points. I've been developing new energy systems for 20yrs and really excited about the potential of SBSP
October 9, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Hi there. Thanks for the article. Quite understand your scepticism. I am CTO of a company developing Space Based Solar Power and would be happy to show you why we have answers to all your valid points. I've been developing new energy systems for 20yrs and really excited about the potential of SBSP
I do wish these people would just ask about SBSP instead of trying to design it and then find problems
October 6, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I do wish these people would just ask about SBSP instead of trying to design it and then find problems
You've missed the UK www.spacesolar.co.uk
Space Solar, developing and commercialise Space-Based Solar Power
Delivering a revolutionary vision to enable Net Zero and global energy security with Space-Based Solar Power
www.spacesolar.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM
You've missed the UK www.spacesolar.co.uk
Agreed, I hope it didn't come across like I was being disparaging that was not my intention. I was just highlighting in heightened geopolitical tensions energy soverignty is of interest to governments around the world
September 25, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Agreed, I hope it didn't come across like I was being disparaging that was not my intention. I was just highlighting in heightened geopolitical tensions energy soverignty is of interest to governments around the world
Imperial College London also reported that just 8GW of SBSP could save £4B a year to the UK in overcapacity building. Of course please take the numbers with a pinch of salt, I like to think of it as a really exciting engineering margin. We can build baseload which is competative.
September 25, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Imperial College London also reported that just 8GW of SBSP could save £4B a year to the UK in overcapacity building. Of course please take the numbers with a pinch of salt, I like to think of it as a really exciting engineering margin. We can build baseload which is competative.
The numbers come from London Economics and Frazer Nash. Because we are closer to the source of energy and outside the atmosphere we need significantly less stuff. For example we need 2 orders of magnitude less active material than a terrestrial equivalent
londoneconomics.co.uk/blog/press-e...
londoneconomics.co.uk/blog/press-e...
London Economics study shows space-based solar power could bring billions in benefit to Europe, and address energy vulnerability - London Economics
A recent London Economics cost benefit study has shown that space-based solar power (SBSP) could help diversify Europe’s energy generation sources - making the transition to Net Zero more achievable
londoneconomics.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The numbers come from London Economics and Frazer Nash. Because we are closer to the source of energy and outside the atmosphere we need significantly less stuff. For example we need 2 orders of magnitude less active material than a terrestrial equivalent
londoneconomics.co.uk/blog/press-e...
londoneconomics.co.uk/blog/press-e...
Yes they could, we also think from a agriculture perspective blocking big swathes of land for renewables or SBSP for that matter could be problematic so we are open for the heighest value dual use whether that is renewables or food production
September 25, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Yes they could, we also think from a agriculture perspective blocking big swathes of land for renewables or SBSP for that matter could be problematic so we are open for the heighest value dual use whether that is renewables or food production
On the specifics of HVDC cables, I think we will end up needing both. A few years back we lost one of our major cables from Europe and was a headache for a while. Also the issue of power being generated elsewhere in a more heightened geopolitical environ. Still important but should be considered
September 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
On the specifics of HVDC cables, I think we will end up needing both. A few years back we lost one of our major cables from Europe and was a headache for a while. Also the issue of power being generated elsewhere in a more heightened geopolitical environ. Still important but should be considered
Something that excites me is the dispatchability of SBSP, I can see a quarter of the globe, so if renewables are doing well I can almost instantly move the beam to another country/continent is not doing so well. If you lose a power station we can pick up the slack before losing frequency
September 25, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Something that excites me is the dispatchability of SBSP, I can see a quarter of the globe, so if renewables are doing well I can almost instantly move the beam to another country/continent is not doing so well. If you lose a power station we can pick up the slack before losing frequency
HVDC cables are as much about material use as they are about expense. Our current work puts SBSP about quarter the CAPEX of nuclear and similar LCOE to renewables when you take the underlying infrastructure costs.
September 25, 2025 at 1:06 PM
HVDC cables are as much about material use as they are about expense. Our current work puts SBSP about quarter the CAPEX of nuclear and similar LCOE to renewables when you take the underlying infrastructure costs.
Current baseline look a little like solar panels but with open nets ifor onshore and floating panels off-shore. Still lots of work to do but are engineering problems rather than physics. One of the exciting bits is that we should be able to make the land dual use, terrestrial PV underneath
September 25, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Current baseline look a little like solar panels but with open nets ifor onshore and floating panels off-shore. Still lots of work to do but are engineering problems rather than physics. One of the exciting bits is that we should be able to make the land dual use, terrestrial PV underneath
We are really excited about SBSP, I have been working on trying to get us out of this mess for over 20 years (fission, fusion and now SBSP) and this is the first time, I see we have enough solutions to do it. It will take a lot of head scratching and drinking of tea, but I can build the thing
September 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
We are really excited about SBSP, I have been working on trying to get us out of this mess for over 20 years (fission, fusion and now SBSP) and this is the first time, I see we have enough solutions to do it. It will take a lot of head scratching and drinking of tea, but I can build the thing
Also the amount of resources that will be needed to take advantage of a low watts of output vs kg of stuff needed is significant. As I said it we are desperate for low carbon sources but I think it will take everything, renewables, storage, carbon capture, energy efficiency, fission and SBSP
September 25, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Also the amount of resources that will be needed to take advantage of a low watts of output vs kg of stuff needed is significant. As I said it we are desperate for low carbon sources but I think it will take everything, renewables, storage, carbon capture, energy efficiency, fission and SBSP
Definitely need renewables accelerating you will get nothing but support from me. I do think relying on one type of thing is a recipe for trouble especially as renewables could be affected by the thing it is trying to counteract i.e. changing climate may have an effect on that assett.
September 25, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Definitely need renewables accelerating you will get nothing but support from me. I do think relying on one type of thing is a recipe for trouble especially as renewables could be affected by the thing it is trying to counteract i.e. changing climate may have an effect on that assett.
If you are interested we hav quite a good FAQ's if you are interested www.spacesolar.co.uk/faqs/
Space Solar - FAQs
Delivering a revolutionary vision to enable Net Zero and global energy security with Space-Based Solar Power
www.spacesolar.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 10:29 AM
If you are interested we hav quite a good FAQ's if you are interested www.spacesolar.co.uk/faqs/
We need to do it all including the next generation of energy sources. At Space Solar we are very confident that SBSP could be deployed in time to meet the transition, we have designs and demonstrators that provide that confidence and have several solutions to the valid points you have raised
September 25, 2025 at 10:20 AM
We need to do it all including the next generation of energy sources. At Space Solar we are very confident that SBSP could be deployed in time to meet the transition, we have designs and demonstrators that provide that confidence and have several solutions to the valid points you have raised