Shimizu advances Luna Ring project to beam clean energy to Earth

The Japanese company Shimizu Corporation is promoting an ambitious space project: the creation of a giant belt of solar panels around the Moon that could supply Earth with clean energy. The idea is known as the Luna Ring, or “Moon Ring,” and has been under development for more than ten years.

According to the plan, the panel belt would extend roughly 10,900 kilometers along the Moon’s equator. This length would cover the entire sunlit region and ensure stable electricity production.

One of the main advantages of this approach is the Moon’s lack of atmosphere: there are no clouds, no weather fluctuations, and almost continuous illumination during the lunar day, which creates favorable conditions for stable generation.

According to Tetsuji Yoshida, head of CSP Japan, solar energy produced by space-based panels could be significantly greater than on Earth due to the absence of an atmosphere; efficiency is expected to rise by about fivefold.

How energy would be transmitted from space to Earth

According to the concept, energy from the panels above the Moon would reach the planet in several stages: first via cables to the Moon’s visible side, then using microwaves and lasers, after which the energy would be received on ground-based receivers.

Such a chain of transmission would allow for a steady power supply regardless of the Moon’s lighting phase and the day-night cycle.

Challenges and financial barriers

Despite the impressive prospects, the project remains a concept without stable financial backing to date. The idea was presented in 2011, but stable funding and support from space agencies, in particular JAXA or NASA, have not been obtained, nor a clear roadmap for implementation.

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Instead, the developers at Shimizu continue research, believing that advances in technology and the growth of the space industry could make the Luna Ring a reality in the future.

A look into the future

While this is an ambitious and long-sighted concept, the Luna Ring demonstrates the scale of thinking of today’s engineers, for whom space-based energy could become part of the global energy map of the future. Further steps will depend on scientific breakthroughs, funding, and international cooperation, but interest in this form of energy exchange remains high, as it opens the path to a new level of the planet’s energy independence.