SOCIETAL ASSESSMENT - INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES S. I. Shotland PRC Energy Analysis Company The objectives of institutional issues studies during the CDEP were to (1) define key institutional areas, (2) establish an information base, and (3) determine whether institutional mechanisms might significantly affect SPS development. Four basic areas were addressed. These included: Finance and Management scenarios; Regulatory issues have been addressed in two study phases, as shown in Figure 1. Preliminary assessment studies were completed in 1978. Subsequently, SPS institutional studies were defined further, and have been addressed in ongoing studies. Two studies assessed the feasibility and advantage of alternative SPS finance and management scenarios. The studies recommended public sector financing at least for the R&D phase. In addition, an international management organization was recommended for the SPS, a la the COMSAT/INTELSAT model. Private participation in SPS would be a function of the busbar cost of electricity, since this determines cash flow and rate of return on investment. The preferred interim and ultimate management framework needs further definition. Regulatory issues were addressed in three studies. These included studies on state and local regulation of energy generation facilities, and the trend of federal agency involvement in the SPS. The present framework for state and local regulations of power plant construction and operation has limited applicability to the Satellite Power System. Regulations are in a state of flux, and maybe inadequate to deal with the SPS. The study on federal regulation of microwave standards reported that the regulatory process and the voluntary 10mW/cm2 standard is undergoing review. Due to different philosophical approaches to microwave standard setting in the West and East European nations, there is no worldwide consensus on standards. U. S. and Western standards are based on the principal of risk/benefit, with standards set on order of magnitude below the threshold of known harmful effects. Soviet standards permit no perceptible effects. However, there is a trend toward convergence of standards; with a lowering of U. S. and Western standards to more stringent levels and a relaxation of Eastern European standards. Still to be determined, however, are definitions of what constitutes "hazard" or "adequate" safety margin in terms of microwave exposure. The study concluded that without definitive scientific data on microwave bioeffects, SPS use of a microwave power transmission link would engender increased public concern. In addition to these studies, an effort was made to identify federal entities with possible roles to play in SPS development. Forty-four major agencies were identified that could be expected to participate in various phases of SPS program development. In the area of SPS utility integration, six studies have focused on specific technical and institutional integration issues. Two studies have assessed the regulatory, institutional and technical utility planning and operations constraints associated with siting 60 rectennas to serve power demand load centers in the continental U. S. One siting constraint scenario is shown in Figure 2. The studies concluded that SPS could be integrated with the utility system using state-of-the-art transmission and load management technology. However, some transmission distance problems could be encountered in the West. In addition, institutional barriers to utility ownership of SPS rectennas or bulk power purchase would exist, at least until the SPS is fully operational.
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