Here's something I imagine: we build a steel belt around the planet to attach "satellites" and solar panels to, space elevators in central Africa, sth America, and Indonesia.

The only thing I'm unsure of is whether it is possible to build it "flat" on the ground and expand it outward by adding new segments until it reaches space, or if it must be built up there in the first place. I suspect it can't be built down here because it'd have to be the strongest self supporting structure ever built, and it would have to be held in the air, paradoxically by wires holding it down like bike spokes. Perhaps the smart way to build it is with spools of wow. Just feed the spool until it laps the planet, catch the end, and then keep adding wires until it turns into a rope.

LEO ~2000km. Earth radius ~6000km. 2pi8000=50,000km of wire for one lap. A decent size near solid rope would need a hell of a lot more than that.

But at some point, something like that is inevitable in my view.