form suitable for interfacing with a terrestrial distribution grid. The role of the reflector part of the relay satellite in GEO is to intercept the incoming microwave beam from the transmitter and re-direct the beam towards the rectenna. All of the system functions must be performed with acceptable environmental impacts on the ecology, on human health and safety, and be compatible with terrestrial electricity transmission systems. There have been many studies conducted on the environmental and health impacts of low power microwaves. The results indicate that there are no adverse impacts. However, acceptable environmental impacts or damage must be defined by each culture given its needs, its tolerance to risks in exchange for benefits, and most importantly the consequences of the alternatives. In today's complex society no energy choice can be made without weighting the environmental impacts of each option. The key feature of the PRS is the capability to transmit significant amounts of electric power over long distances. The relationships between the magnitude of delivered power, the transmission distance, and the life-cycle economic competitiveness with other energy delivery means over intercontinental distances, are highly interdependent. The geometrical relationship between the transmitter and rectenna at the Earth-based sites to the relay satellite reflector will influence the design of the microwave system. A study of the PRS performed for the Commission of the European Communities, Joint Research Center, Ispra, Italy [11] concluded that the PRS can be designed to meet system requirements and demonstrated in less than 15 years based on a legacy of 40 years of development of microwave-based technology. If the technical challenges can me met and the system is shown to be compertitive, then the PRS would be capable of accessing renewable energy sources located at a great distance from major markets. Solar Power Satellites "Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, some man believed that it could, and some man willed that it must." - C.F. Kettering In 1968 Peter Glaser linked photovoltaics (solar cells) microwaves, and satellite technology together to create the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) concept. The first and second oil crises caused the US Department of Energy (DOE) and NASA to investigate the SPS concept using the microwave and laser portions of the electromagnetic spectrum for wireless power transmission. In the SPS concept, solar cell arrays convert solar energy directly into electricity and feed it to microwave generators forming part of a planar, phased-array transmitting antenna. The antenna directs a microwave beam of very low power density precisely to one or more receiving antennas, at desired location on Earth. At the receiving station it is converted back into electricity. The energy can then be distributed via national grids, used in industrial enterprises at the receiving site or converted to hydrogen for storage,
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