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Virtus Solis and Brae Announce Illinois Space-Solar PPA for 100 MW

Virtus Solis and Brae say a 20-year PPA would deliver 876,000 MWh of orbital solar power annually to a planned Illinois receiver. The project remains in development.
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Virtus Solis and Brae Systems announced a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) on September 30, 2026, for an initial 100 MW of orbital solar power intended to deliver 876,000 MWh a year to a planned receiving station in Illinois. The agreement is a commercial milestone, not evidence that the power plant is built or electricity is flowing: the proposed orbital system and ground infrastructure have not yet been deployed, and financing, construction, technical milestones and timing remain unresolved.

What the agreement covers

Virtus Solis Technologies and Brae Systems say the agreement covers 100 MW of 24/7 orbital solar power for 20 years. The companies state that this capacity would supply 876,000 MWh annually through a dedicated terrestrial receiving station planned for Illinois. The release was issued by Virtus Solis, so these are company-announced terms; the full PPA, its price and detailed conditions have not been disclosed in the reviewed materials. Virtus Solis announcement via PR Newswire

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The planned Illinois station is intended to support Brae’s subsea GPU data-center infrastructure. The companies describe the combination as a way to address energy, land and cooling constraints. Those are design aims, not independently verified results from an operating facility. pv magazine’s report

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The 250 MW figure is an option

Brae may expand the contracted capacity to 250 MW within three years after initial commercial operations, according to Virtus Solis. The company gives 2.19 million MWh as the annual output at that capacity. This is an expansion option, not the initial commitment or evidence that the larger system will be built.

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What 876,000 MWh means

876,000 MWh is the annual energy quantity stated for the initial 100 MW arrangement. It is not a record of electricity already delivered. The companies’ “24/7” description refers to the intended baseload supply profile; actual delivery depends on the proposed system becoming operational and meeting its performance targets.

How orbital solar power is supposed to reach Illinois

Virtus Solis describes a system that collects sunlight with solar arrays in orbit, converts the energy to radio-frequency (RF) waves, and beams it to a receiving station on Earth. The receiver would convert the RF energy back into electricity for terrestrial use. The company describes its arrays as modular and assembled in orbit; pv magazine reports that the planned receiving station would have a footprint comparable to utility-scale solar arrays. These are proposed design details, not descriptions of deployed infrastructure. Virtus Solis pv magazine

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The design rationale is continuous solar collection without the night/day cycle or weather interruptions that affect ground-based solar. That rationale does not establish commercial uptime. Virtus Solis cited 99.9% uptime in its announcement; this is a company claim, not independently verified operating performance. Latitude Media’s coverage

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Is the project operational, and when could it deliver power?

No. The PPA is an agreement for future supply, and the reviewed reporting says the project infrastructure has not yet been deployed. It is not a working orbital power plant, operating receiver or completed data center.

Latitude Media reported that Virtus Solis CEO John Bucknell expected first power around 2030 and described a planned 100-kW orbital pilot within about 24 months. Those are executive expectations reported on September 30, 2026, not guaranteed dates. The companies also say a public wireless power-transfer demonstration is planned for March 2027; that, too, is a schedule rather than a completed demonstration. Latitude Media pv magazine

Important execution questions remain. The reviewed sources do not establish financing, regulatory approvals, construction progress, a completed receiver or a guaranteed in-service date. Bucknell told Latitude Media, “There are technical and financial milestones associated with both sides.”

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Demonstration performance is still a target

Latitude Media reported that Virtus Solis hoped to exceed 50% wireless-link efficiency in the planned March 2027 demonstration, compared with about 4% in prior demonstrations as reported in that coverage. The higher figure is a target, not an achieved result, and neither number establishes the performance of a commercial-scale system.

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Why a PPA is not the same as a power plant

A PPA sets out a commercial arrangement for electricity; it does not by itself prove that the generation system, transmission link or receiving station exists, is financed or can deliver the contracted energy. For this project, the key steps include financing an orbital plant, manufacturing and launching equipment, assembling the system, demonstrating RF power transmission, and building the Illinois receiving station and associated facilities. The reported schedule and performance claims should be assessed against those milestones as they are achieved.

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The companies call this the “world’s first commercial RF space solar power purchase agreement.” That is their characterization, not an uncontested first: Latitude Media notes that PG&E and Solaren had signed an earlier 200-MW space-solar PPA in 2009. The earlier deal planned deliveries from 2016 but was mutually cancelled in 2015 after Solaren failed to secure financing. It is a cautionary example of the distance between a contract and a completed space-power project, not proof that the Virtus Solis-Brae proposal will fail. Latitude Media

What to watch as the proposal develops

  • Financing: Virtus Solis must secure funding for the first 100-MW power plant. Latitude Media reported that the company had won an approximately $2 million ARPA-E award in January 2025; that award is not evidence that the commercial project is fully financed.
  • Technical demonstrations: The planned March 2027 public demo and 100-kW orbital pilot are milestones to verify, not proof of commercial capability in advance.
  • Construction and approvals: The orbital arrays, launch and assembly work, Illinois receiving station, and pilot data center all need to move from plans to completed infrastructure.
  • Contract detail: The PPA price and complete conditions are not disclosed in the reviewed materials, so its cost cannot be compared reliably with conventional renewable power contracts.
  • Expansion terms: The 250-MW option depends on its stated post-commercial-operations window; it should not be counted as contracted initial supply.

For any comparison with terrestrial renewables or other space-solar proposals, the useful questions are project maturity, contracted capacity and annual energy, receiver and transmission requirements, financing and launch dependencies, and the conditions attached to schedule and expansion. Publicly available information cited here does not establish a comparable price or levelized cost.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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