ence was thought to lie more in the nature of the mix of problems associated with the different energy sources than in their absolute magnitude. The study also recommended that, prior to making any significant financial commitment to SPS specific technology development, the United Kingdom should first investigate such basic issues as: • the advantages and disadvantages of adding the SPS to existing or projected candidates for future baseload electricity supply • the possible locations for rectennas for meeting European power needs • the environmental impact of SPS operation • the probable timescale for technology development and operational ap- plications. Late in 1979, the UK Department of Industry awarded a further contract to a group of companies led by British Aerospace, to study the implications for UK industry of the implementation of Solar Power Satellites. The major objectives of this contract are: • to assess and identify all direct and indirect design areas and hardware technologies involved in SPS development and operation • to identify potential opportunities for UK industry • to attempt to quantify these opportunities and to recommend future actions. In addition, British Aerospace has initiated an in-house effort to investigate certain technical aspects of the SPS that are particularly critical for Europe: • Study of several methods for reducing the rectenna area, e.g. combination of laser and microwave power transmission by using a stratospheric platform to convert laser energy into microwave energy or splitting of a 5 GW beam into several smaller beams. • Assessment of radio-frequency interference, both with ground and space- borne communication systems, and definition of possible mitigating approaches. In France, M. Claverie and A. Dupas of Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi- que (CNRS) have investigated the SPS's potential role as a solar-energy conversion system compared with terrestrial solar power plants. They first made an assessment of the potential World market for terrestrial and space solar power stations (7) and came to the conclusion that solar electrical power generation in space and on the ground can complement each other. This conclusion is based on the assumption that a large part of the electrical power needs have to be supplied by large centralized baseload power stations, including power satellites, but that in addition there is a significant market for decentralized electrical energy generation, mainly in areas that have high insolations and/or lack a power grid infrastructure. More recently Claverie and Dupas (8) have studied in greater detail whether the SPS is the only practical option for generating baseload electrical power from
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