Tokyo: A Japanese construction company proposes to solve the energy problems facing Japan, and ultimately the entire planet, by turning the moon into a solar power plant.

Shimizu Corp, which is based in Tokyo, wants to lay a belt of solar panels 400 kilometres wide around the equator of the moon and relay the resulting constant supply of energy to ''receiving stations'' on Earth by laser or microwave transmission.

The proposed ''luna ring'' would be capable of sending 13,000 terawatts of power to Earth. In 2011, the US generated just 4100 terawatts of power, the company says.

''A shift from economical use of limited resources to the unlimited use of clean energy is the ultimate dream of mankind,'' Shimizu said.

''The luna ring … translates this dream into reality through ingenious ideas coupled with advanced space technologies.''

Until March 2011, and the tsunami that crippled the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan had relied heavily on nuclear power.

Opposition to atomic energy has hardened in the intervening years, as the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company struggle to bring the stricken plant's reactors under control.

There is a general acceptance that Japan, which shut its last nuclear reactor in September, will need to restart its nuclear plants in the short term, but the disaster has focused new attention on safer forms of energy.

Shimizu first came up with its luna ring proposal before the accident at Fukushima, but the crisis means the scheme is attracting renewed interest.

The company is reluctant to put a price tag on costs but, given adequate funding, it says construction work could get under way as early as 2035.

Robots would be developed to mine the moon's resources and produce concrete and the solar cells required for the scheme.

The belt would stretch almost 11,000 kilometres around the equator and ensure constant exposure to the sun - without cloud cover - and an equally constant transfer of energy to the Earth.

Shimizu believes that ''virtually inexhaustible, non-polluting solar energy is the ultimate source of green energy''.

Telegraph, London