China is launching a space-based solar power project, aiming to harness energy from space, as the Middle East's oil crisis escalates. This ambitious project could revolutionize the green energy sector, but its feasibility remains to be seen.

Amid turmoil in the Middle East, including the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil passes, Beijing is pressing ahead with its Zhuri (sun-chasing) project to build solar power stations in space. Chinese Academy of Engineering academician and senior rocket scientist Long Lehao likened this space-based solar power programme to putting the Three Gorges Dam into geostationary orbit, underscoring its extraordinary scale and ambition......