SPACE-BASED SOLAR POWER CONVERSION AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS STUDY (NAS8-31308) Statement by Dr. Edward Greenblat Assistant Vice President ECON, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey Mr. Chairman, Members of this Committee The following summarizes a study that ECON, Inc. has performed for NASA concerning the economic and technical viability of space-based solar power conversion and delivery systems. Subcontractors to ECON have been Arthur D. Little, Inc., the Grumman Aerospace Corporation and the Raytheon Company. 1.0 Background Even at reduced growth rates, the demand for electric power is expected to more than triple between now and 1995 and to triple again over the period 1995-2020. Without the development of new power sources and advanced transmission technologies, it may not be possible to supply electric energy at prices conducive to generalized economic welfare. Solar power is renewable, and its conversion and transmission from space may be advantageous. The goal of this study was to determine the relative economic merit of space-based photovoltaic systems for power generation and a power relay satellite for power transmission. In this study, satellite solar power generation and transmission systems, as represented by current configurations of the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==