3.2.1 Product identification The first stage of the space solar power program marketing strategy is to achieve understanding of the product to be marketed or the types of products to be marketed. There can be three distinct possibilities for the product to be marketed from the space solar power program: a. a microwave beam generated by a GEO orbiting solar power satellite aimed towards a customer's rectenna for their consumption b. electric power generated as an output from a terrestrial rectenna c. managed, transmitted and distributed electric power to end users The first of the above products would result from a demonstration of microwave beamed space- to-space power for powering the solar arrays of existing communication satellites. A market exists for rejuvenating the life of expired satellites or providing additional power to communication satellites during the eclipse period of their orbits. This is the product which will be available from the smaller solar power satellite resulting from the near term demonstrations. This would be a product possibly available in the short term within ten years. As pointed out above, since this a space based application, potential users are communication satellite companies, government space agencies and scientific organizations requiring the benefit of solar power for space research. This second type of product would be that available from a mid-term application. It would enable space power satellite technology to develop a market niche in order to prove itself and secure the time needed to achieve the economies of a larger space solar power program. Given that this type of product would be available close to the end user, such as in the Antarctic, such a market niche would include the economic benefit of having higher cost per kilowatt-hour for conventional generation thus making satellite power economically competitive early in its development phase. The development time for this product is in the thirty to forty year time period. Potential customers for this product include organizations requiring large amounts of localized electric power for which a power distribution network is not required. A requirement of the application of this power would be that the users would have to be willing to locate large rectennas on or near their property and land for localized usage. These customers will probably include large manufacturing companies, heavy specific users like aluminum smelting companies, and remote residential locations in third world countries. This third type of large-scale power distribution would involve building the necessary power management and distribution networks with its inherent high costs. This would be long term development of solar power in the fifty year or greater time period. Any new product, technology or new energy source requires a way to enter the market place. Energy from space is no different than the copier, the railroad or the oil industry in this regard. The question is what should be the market strategy for space solar power program given the entrenched and vested interests of the various “conventional” energy sources such as oil, coal and nuclear in the industrial nations and advocacy groups. The marketing strategy for the terrestrial use of a space based solar power demonstration could be targeted to highlight benefits obtained from space. Some of these are: • The need to limit hard currency expenditures for diesel fuel for generators to Antarctic. • The technology is capable of being scaled in a modular fashion and can thus be fit to needs (above a certain power density) • The use of energy from space would provide a socially acceptable alternative to diesel thus greatly limiting the environmental damage. • Low maintenance costs. • No fuel requirements. • High reliability due to fewer moving parts. • Long lifetime of power systems. • Lower life cycle system costs (to be calculated) What are the competitive technologies? Currently, oil, gas, coal, hydrelectric and nuclear power all compete in the power generation market. Within the rural markets of the third world, there is competition from biomass which is rapidly being exhausted. For remote, isolated sites, diesel
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