Space… the solar power frontier
My Clean Break column this week takes a look at the idea of space-based solar power systems and how an agency of the U.S. government is recommending that the idea be given serious consideration, as well as funding on the scale we’ve seen for research into nuclear fusion. The National Security Space Office, which reports to the U.S. Department of Defense, argues that energy security concerns, climate change and technological advancements warrant a massive government investment in space-based solar power systems, which could technically beam gigawatts of clean power back to Earth. It’s proposing a 10-megawatt pilot, which if successful, could spur private investment in commercial ventures, much like early government investment in the Internet and GPS eventually transformed the way we do business.
A 2005 survey of members of the space advocacy community found that 35 per cent of those polled saw space-based solar power (SBSP) to be a top priority for future U.S. space efforts, double the percentage who favoured defense of the planet from destructive asteroids and more than three times those who favoured a manned mission to Mars. The report also states that countries such as Canada (Go Canucks!) have expressed past and current interest.
“The technical feasibility of the concept has never been better and all science and technology development vectors appear to indicate that there is a credible potential for SBSP to be built within a strategically relevant period of time,” the report concludes. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Department of Defense report if it didn’t have some military perks. “To the DoD specifically, beamed energy from space in quantities greater than 5 megawatt-hours has the potential to be a disruptive game changer on the battlefield.”
It goes on to envision “energy on demand” for combat units. Hell, combined with satellite TV the battlefield entertainment possibilities are endless. HDTV in the deserts outside Kandahar. Charging of iPods in the mountains of Pakistan. Now we’re talking.
Tyler Hamilton is senior energy reporter and columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the cleantech market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper. Tyler can be reached at tyler@cleanbreak.ca
October 17th, 2007 at 1:35 am
What a waste of intellect, good will and funds.
Who can explain future generations why we kept on indulging in technological pipe dreams while the solutions were staring us in the face?
Look at Khosla and let us get a life.
Emil M
October 17th, 2007 at 1:39 am
sorry, link for Khosla is here
October 17th, 2007 at 5:43 am
Hmmmm it’s the military side of things that worries me more than anything. It would effectively be a gigawatt power directed energy weapon. A geosynchronous orbit means that this laser would pass over other countries as America does not lie on the equator and therefore a geostationary orbit is not possible. At the kind of orbital altitudes you’re talking about they would have an awful lot of the earth in view.
America’s clearly stated intentions of dominating space is hugely destabilising (and in clear contravention to the Outer Space Treaty) and with one of these floating above our heads…..
October 17th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Not a laser but an RF transmitter. The military applications for a directed energy weapon are not there.
Stephen
October 18th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
http://entropyproduction.blogspot.com/2006/07/solar-power-satellite.html
Been there, done that, thrown the concept in the blue box.
October 19th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
From the report it seems that some sort of laser is one potential method, but wouldn’t gigawatts of RF do a fairly good job at cooking you?
If an energy generation technology has a *hint* of weapons potential then I think it should be left well alone.
October 22nd, 2007 at 11:10 pm
and here i was getting all excited about finally realizing Steven Wright’s dream…the Cordless Extension Cord!!
Now you’ve all got me worried about laser beams and RF cooking me from the inside out!
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Hehe sorry. I’m just suspicious of the current US administration’s designs on space and the words “disruptive game changer on the battlefield” send a shiver down my spine. It’ll be an interesting one to watch that’s for sure.
It’s worth checking this Worldchanging article and some of the sites they link through to:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007460.html