For FY80, the Administration has requested $8 million for SPS in the DOE budget, with no SPS money requested in the NASA budget. The House Science and Technology Committee recommended the $8 million for SPS in its report on the DOE authorization bill, H.R.3OOO, on May 16 (H.Rept. 96-196), and the Senate Energy Committee followed suit on June 26 (S.Rept. 95-232). The House Appropriations Committee reduced the SPS allotment to $6.5 million in its June 7 report (H.Rept. 96—243), and the House accepted that action in its vote on H.R.4388 on June 18. The Senate Appropriations Committee reduced the amount For SPS to $5.5 Million (S.Rept. 96-242, July 12), and the full Senate accepted that recommendation in passing the bill on July 18. On July 25, the Conference Committee reported the FY80 appropriation bill (H.Rept. 96—388) and accepted the Senate's position of reducing the amount requested for SPS to $5.5 million. The House passed the conference report on Aug. 1. On Feb. 22, 1979, Congressman Flippo and a number of co-sponsors introduced H.R. 2335, the Solar Power Satellite Research, Development and Evaluation Program Act of 1979. The bill is essentially similar to H.R. 12505 passed by congress in 1978. The primary difference is the substitution of the word "Evaluation" for "Development." This change was made to clarity the intent of the bill to provide for an evaluation of SPS feasibility rather than for actual construction of an SPS prototype or a commitment to an SPS commercialization program. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Science and Technology, where hearings were held on Mar. 28, 29, and 30. The committee favorably reported the bill on May 15 (H.Rept. 96-l51). ISSUES OF CONCERN Environmental Three areas of possible environmental impact of commercially operating SPS stations are: (1) microwave radiation affecting the atmosphere as it is transmitted from space to Earth; (2) microwave radiation effects at the rectenna site; and (3) possible atmospheric damage caused by pollutants emanating from the launch vehicles used to transport SPS construction material into orbit. Regarding the first question, SPS advocates are convinced that the beam will be of such low power density that it will not affect either the atmosphere itself (through heating), or birds, or aircraft passing through it. Others feel that there is too little information about the impact of microwaves on these objects to make such a determination and that further study is needed. Microwave radiation dangers at the rectenna site are also not regarded as serious by SPS advocates, who claim that the rectennas could be shielded so that little or none of the radiation would pass through to the ground underneath, and that the level of microwave radiation at the rectenna's perimeter would be well within current standards for exposure. (One problem with this is that no international standard for microwave radiation exposure now exists. The U.S. standard for occupational exposure is considerably higher than that permitted in the Soviet Onion, and U.S. standards are currently being reviewed.) Regarding land usage for the rectennas, SPS advocates suggest that a fence surrounding the rectenna's perimeter would be sufficient to prevent accidental exposure to the higher level of radiation at the center of the rectenna. DOE does not agree, however, stating in a November 1976 report
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