In order evaluate the size and price of this segment the assumptions of paragraph 3.1.1 (peak power segment) still apply. Similar to the analysis of power relay, we assess the market based on Chapter 2 data. The total yearly demanded electricity by the grids is roughly equivalent to 31 • 1012 kWh. With the peak demand being again 20% of the total, the peak load market size would be 6000 billion kWh, equivalent to a global market of $600 billion per year. The quantity demanded at a single location is still 500 MW or more. 3.1.3 Long Term Markets The market possibilities for beamed power in the long term are almost limitless. Unfortunately, as with most limitless things, they are hard to describe with any accuracy. Because of this difficulty, the following descriptions will be exceedingly general in nature and will almost certainly miss some of the markets which may eventually exist. Space The shape of mankind's future in space is a question many people have been trying to answer for hundreds of years. Just how far we will advance into space and how fast are questions which cannot be answered from the present perspective. We can, however, make some guesses about some of the steps which may be taken in the next few centuries and what the energy needs will be to take those steps. Possible long-term markets for beamed power in space include orbital manufacturing facilities, space habitats, lunar and planetary bases, and the transportation networks needed to connect them. Orbital manufacturing facilities in the future will probably be the platforms for production of high precision materials, electronic equipment, and biotechnology. To produce their commodities in large quantities, these facilities will need large quantities of power. However, these platforms will also need an environment as free from outside disturbances as possible. Dynamic systems used to generate large quantities of power are generally noisy, disruptive devices unsuitable for use in a high-precision environment. On the other hand, solar panels large enough to supply the desired power levels would be highly vibration prone and would again be disruptive to microgravity processes. Reception of power generated elsewhere might allow these orbital factories to consume large quantities of power without contaminating the purity of the microgravity environment. Orbital habitats may have similar problems with in situ power production. Consider, for instance, the solar arrays used to power Skylab. Even though the arrays were not incredibly large, whenever a spacecraft approached to dock with the space station they would sway back and forth as if in a strong wind. The high rate of transportation activity likely in the vicinity of a larger future habitat might prove disruptive to large solar arrays and hence make them impractical. Keeping large structures of this sort in a relatively undisturbed area and beaming the power elsewhere might prove to be the best way to overcome such problems. Large lunar bases of the future (as well as bases on other planets) might also have a need for beamed power. Though abundant materials for fabrication of solar cells are available on the lunar surface, power is only available from a given array for 14 days out of every 28. It may be that to provide consistent power to a base even during the lunar night, orbiting power stations may be the cheapest solution. Another possibility might be that power generated during the lunar day could be sent to the opposite side of the moon via an orbital relay. The last long-term market of note for space would be in space transportation. It may be that the solution to low payload ratios for interplanetary journeys and even to launch from planetary bodies is to avoid carrying around a useless energy source. If beamed power can make moving around the solar system more economical, by whatever methods, the potential market would be immense. All this is just so much speculation, however. It is difficult to guess what the potential markets for beamed power will be even 50 years from now. Predicting the markets over a hundred years in advance is well-nigh impossible. Predicting the markets for Earth may not be quite so hard, however; at least there we have several thousand years of experience to draw on.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==