aspects of the impacts that SPS is likely to have on national and international society, exclusive of environmental, health, and safety issues.3 This paper focuses on the economic and demographic impacts that operating a large SPS system may have on industrial location and population distribution at the local, regional, and national levels in the U.S. Issues tangential to this primary focus are: public acceptance of the SPS concept, the centralization or decentralization of American society that may result from its deployment and international movements of industry and/or population. These latter issues are accorded limited attention because they are the primary concerns of other white papers. The purpose of this preliminary assessment is to survey existing literature, delineate important impact considerations, and establish a basis for further work. To this end, the white paper documents the results of four preliminary assessment activities which are as follows: 1. Review existing literature dealing with industrial location, attendant population migration, and the role of electricity availability and pricing as factors influencing economic movements. 2. Identify economic and demographic issues relating to the deployment of SPS. 3. Consideration of the potential significance of these sociodemographic impacts in terms of expected public acceptance by appropriate interest groups. 4. Recommend additional study needs and the most advantageous approaches to these studies. For purposes of the Concept Development and Evaluation Program, elements of the SPS concept have been grouped in several ways; but one aggregation that has proven most helpful in formulating this paper is set forth by NASA. In that report, the major SPS elements are grouped as follows: Satellite Power Station This element encompasses the power conversion options being studied. In addition to the photovoltaic and thermal solar energy conversion options, contractor studies are being performed on nuclear energy conversion systems. Each conversion option uses a rather similar microwave power conversion and transmission system as part of the satellite power station. Ground Receiving and Distribution Site This element includes the receiving antenna for the microwave beam, the utility interface with the related electric ground distribution system, the safety system related to microwave exposure protection and to the safety of maintenance and service activities, and the maintenance and service system.
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