Land use for Space Solar Power is far less than the alternatives

NREL answered the question of how much land is needed to completely decarbonize electricity generation in the USA by 2035 [1]. Quick summary, 3 states worth of land would be covered by wind farms! That is more area than the United Kingdom.

In most scenarios, wind generation would grow from 136 GW in 2021 [2] to more than 1000 GW. The reason for windenergy playing such a large role is because capacity factors up to 55% are possible in high quality wind regions. This reduces the need for energy storage to address the daily and seasonal variations in solarpower generation.

Space based solar power (SBSP) offers a clean, firm, renewable alternative. Because the SBSP ground receivers can be constructed with much higher efficiency than solar cells [3] and operate with nearly a 100% capacity factor, much, much, much less total land is required. Furthermore, receivers can be sited anywhere reducing connection issues and tradeoffs in land usage.


-------------------
References
[1] - @NREL 100% Clean Electricity by 2035 Study
- Webpage - https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/100-percent-clean-electricity-by-2035-study.html
- PDF - https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/81644.pdf
[2] - WINDExchange: Land-Based Wind Energy - https://windexchange.energy.gov/markets/land-based
[3] - The rectenna device: From theory to practice (a review)
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1557/mre.2014.6