Value chain · CLM-0170
In plain terms
A UK government-commissioned study estimates the cost of electricity from a mature (fifth-built) space solar power satellite at roughly 3.5 to 7.9 pence per kWh in 2018 money, but this swings by almost 3x depending on how much it costs to launch things into orbit.
The claim as recorded
Frazer-Nash's BEIS-commissioned CASSIOPeiA cost model gives a baseline LCOE of GBP 35.2/MWh (p10), GBP 49.7/MWh (p50) and GBP 79.4/MWh (p90), 2018 prices, for an nth-of-a-kind (NOAK) 2GW system with a 20% hurdle rate, commissioned in 2040; the same Table 4 shows LCOE at GBP 83.7-99.0/MWh under a high spacelift cost of GBP 2,410/kg and GBP 29.9-37.3/MWh under a low spacelift cost of GBP 358/kg (both 2018 prices).
Scope and limits
This is a single-realisation model of one design concept (CASSIOPeiA), not a generic SBSP cost. It is NOAK (5th unit), not first-of-a-kind - see CLM-0171 for the FOAK contrast. Figures are 2018 prices even though the report itself is dated 2021 (see notes).
What it assumes
CASSIOPeiA-specific mass and efficiency assumptions hold; 20% hurdle rate is appropriate; spacelift cost falls within the modelled GBP358-2,410/kg (2018 prices) range.
Where it comes from
"Table 4: Calculated LCOE values for SBSP... All values are in 2018 prices." Baseline (20%): 35.2 / 49.7 / 79.4 GBP/MWh. High Spacelift Cost (GBP2,410/kg): 83.7/91.0/99.0. Low Spacelift Cost (GBP358/kg): 29.9/33.4/37.3. (p.23, "Copy of fnc-004456-51624r-phase-2-economic-feasibility-issue-1-1.pdf")
Basis: GBP, 2018 prices, GBP/MWh, NOAK CASSIOPeiA 2GW system, 20% hurdle rate baseline
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-037 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0170
CLM-0170, Energy Aperture, as of 2021.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-021
- CLM-0171The same model shows the cost of electricity is noticeably higher for the first unit built than for the fifth, and when this study compares...CLM-0172The study uses a high assumed rate of return (20%) to work out the headline cost-per-unit-of-electricity figure, but uses a much lower...CLM-0173Developing a working space solar power system for the UK is estimated to cost somewhere between about 7.5 and 16 billion pounds (in 2021...CLM-0174On the study's own numbers, a first space solar power system would not, by itself, earn investors the return they would expect (20%) - it...CLM-0175For every pound of public money put into the whole programme, the study estimates the UK economy gets back between GBP 1.30 and GBP 1.80...CLM-0522The UK study used a 20% return requirement, based on what institutional investors are expected to want. The US study used 3%, on a one-line...CLM-0538The US and UK studies are not just using different toughness levels for the same test -- they are answering different questions. The US...CLM-0714The 2021 UK study by Frazer-Nash Consultancy proposed that the satellite fly itself to its final orbit, using its own solar panels to run...More on the source page.
- Cited in articles