will no doubt wish to participate in this profit-making venture. Until that time, however, their role will that of an observer, waiting for the moment whereby their participation will be most beneficial. It is therefore important for the public relations group to keep the industrial community well informed on current and future activities of the program. In addition, this group should offer suggestions as to what fields of activity the industrial community will be able to participate in and when. This section will attempt to identify the incentives for investing into the program. In this context, industry represents those institutions who are able to finance, in some form, the program. These institutions include the utility companies, the contractors and manufacturers and finally the financial institutions and insurance companies. This list is not complete. It could also include the space agencies which are not typically considered to be industrial. They do however, represent the managing aspect of any contract and hence could contribute in that area. This aspect is not covered in this section. The Utilities The utilities, currently based on non-sustainable energy sources, will be deeply interested in acquiring a path for gradual change towards a sustainable energy source. As always, they will want assurance that sustainable, reliable solar energy is a practical reality. An example could be the companies in Saudi Arabia or in Venezuela. These countries are heavily dependent on their oil production and it may be interesting to offer a space solar power program alternative to these existing companies. Oil conglomerates in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will wish to see how a conversion process from oil to space solar power is both feasible and manageable. Their geographic location, near the equator, will undoubtedly give them a further incentive to investigate this alternative. Users of coal and other fossil fuels call for a slightly different approach. These supplies are estimated to be at least double the oil supply. Hence, there is less urgency for companies to convert to another source of energy. As an example, China possesses an abundance of coal. Their demands in energy are increasing rapidly. State-owned companies may be very reluctant to switch and hence financial incentives may be needed to compensate for the transition. The alternative is an environmental strategy whereby a world-wide carbon credit system penalizes heavy CO2 emitting sources and encourages alternative sources. Of course, the trading of credits is permitted in exchange for either technology or possibly space solar power program shares. The utilities based on sustainable energy sources, such as hydro-electric or nuclear power, are facing increasing opposition by both the environmental groups and, perhaps more importantly, the general public. This apprehension translates to a limited growth opportunity and possibly towards an intolerance for potentially damaging energy sources. It is unclear at the moment if this opposition will be sufficient to convince the utilities to investigate alternative safe forms of sustainable energy. Contractor and Manufacturers With regards to the contractors and manufacturers, the first task for the public relations group is to identify the industrial sectors and in particular the companies whose core competencies would complete and complement the overall program. Once established, these companies should be addressed and possibly given an incentive to supply initial equipment for the program in exchange for preferential treatment in the later stages of program development. An alternative to this scheme may be to offer some form of lease arrangement, albeit this scheme has not been fully developed. In addition, these companies would want information as to how to position themselves for future contracts. Financial Institutions and Insurance Brokers As unfortunate as it may seem, financial institutions will only provide funding to ventures which are perceived to have little or no risk. Although not as stringent, insurance brokers operate in a similar manner. The program, as it stands, is far beyond the reach of these institutions. Once the program is proven successful, both technically and financially, participation from these institutions will occur. An analogy to the program, which may prove to be useful, is the deployment of ships in the 16th century towards the new world. North and South America were seen to have unlimited amounts of resources which Europe desperately needed. As soon as the sailing ships were proven to be successful in obtaining this wealth, most financial institutions quickly entered into the venture. In fact, Lloyd's of London was created for the sole purpose of insuring these sailing vessels. Once the program is
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