Pentagon backs plan to beam solar power from space

October 12, 2007 | Source: NewScientist.com

A futuristic scheme to collect solar energy on satellites and beam it to Earth has gained a large supporter in the US military.

A report released yesterday by the National Security Space Office recommends that the US government sponsor projects to demonstrate solar-power-generating satellites and provide financial incentives for further private development of the technology. Unlike solar panels based on the ground, solar power satellites placed in geostationary orbit above the Earth could operate at night and during cloudy conditions. The NSSO report recommends that the US government spend $10 billion over the next 10 years to build a test satellite capable of beaming 10 megawatts of electric power down to Earth.

More than a dozen space advocacy groups also announced a new alliance to promote space solar power — the Space Solar Alliance for Future Energy, saying that the technology has the potential to provide more energy than fossil fuels, wind and nuclear power combined.