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SOLAR
POWER
SATELLITES

OTA Reports are the principal documentation of formal assessment projects.
These projects are approved in advance by the Technology Assessment Board. At
the conclusion of a project, the Board has the opportunity to review the report
but its release does not necessarily imply endorsement of the results by the Board
or its individual members.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
Office of Technology Assessment
Washington, DC 20510

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGA
LIBRARIES

NOV 5 1901

DEPOSITED BY THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 81-600129

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402

Engine U.S.A. 76/16/81 Foreword

The energy difficulties the Nation has faced over the past decade have given rise to an increased awareness of the potential long-term, inexhaustible, or renewable energy technologies. This assessment responds to a request by the House Committee on Science and Technology for an evaluation of the energy potential of one of the most ambitious and long-term of these technologies, the solar power satellite (SPS).

In assessing SPS, OTA has taken into account the preliminary nature of SPS technology by comparing four alternative SPS systems across a broad range of issues: their technical characteristics, long-term energy supply potential, international and military implications, environmental impacts, and institutional effects. The SPS options are also compared to potentially competitive future energy technologies in order to identify how choices among them might be made. In addition, OTA developed a set of Federal research and funding options to address the central questions and uncertainties identified in the report.

We were greatly aided by the advice of the SPS advisory panel, as well as by the participants in three specialized workshops: one on alternative SPS systems, one on public opinion, and another on competing energy supply technologies. The contributions of a number of contractors, who provided important analyses, and of numerous individuals who gave generously of their time and knowledge, are gratefully appreciated.

John H. Sibbana

JOHN H. GIBBONS
Director

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