Rectennas and Land Use
How large are the receivers for microwave systems, and how much land do they need?
Chapter summary
large, but less than the equivalent ground solar farm for the same energy.
Key takeaways
- 1
The 1979 reference design used an elliptical rectenna about 10 by 13 km for 5 GW at 2.45 GHz.
- 2
At 5.8 GHz with a 1 km transmitter, the beam spot is about 4.5 km across, roughly 16 km², plus a safety buffer.
- 3
A rectenna is a mesh of small antennas and diodes raised on supports; it is mostly transparent to light and rain, so land beneath can sometimes be farmed.
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