few oil producing and coal rich countries, most of the Third World countries have been starved of energy because of the prohibitive costs of oil on one hand and the progressively declining forest resources on the other. Of all the alternatives available to the Third World, one with promise of cheap, reliable, and more or less clean supply of energy to meet the challenge of industrial development in the shortest possible time is that of the solar power satellite (SPS). In order to understand the viability of the SPS in relation to other conventional and nonconventional energy sources, it is appropriate to understand the dimension of the energy crisis in the Third World. ENERGY CRISIS IN THE THIRD WORLD In an era of serveral crises, no crises hit the world so hard, deep, and mercilessly as the energy crisis, which, for historical reasons, began in 1973 with the Arab oil embargo. Suddenly the world realized that the age of recklessness, in which precious fossil fuel was squandered, had come to an end with an incalculable price to be paid by more than a hundred poor countries without any energy resources. These countries have been left with negligible energy choices. With limited capital, inadequate technical manpower, growing population in the rural areas, and accelerated urbanization, these countries face an unparalleled challenge of survival. They need basic energy for lighting, cooking, transport, and other minimum needs, not to mention small scale industries, housing, health, and entertainment. Their per capita energy consumption is hardly 5% of that in the United States. Yet, meeting these demands is an arduous task. Approximately 80% of the population in these countries live in rural areas, where they depend on firewood, and agricultural and animal waste for their energy sources. With thousands of years of deforestation, firewood has become scarce in most of the Third World. On an average, people spend 2'h hours a day just to collect firewood for cooking. Since other sources of energy remain untapped, rising oil prices have practically marketed them out even for their minimum requirements. Thus, the conventional sources of energy like coal, oil, natural gas, hydropower, firewood, cow dung, and wastes are becoming more expensive or scarcer. On the other hand, nonconventional energy sources, such as solar, tidal, geothermal, and wind as alternatives, are not being developed. Growing urban population and industrial complexes depend on fossil fuel, which has a finite lifetime. While solid fossil fuel, primarily coal may last for more than 500 years, most of the oil reserves of the earth, according to many reliable estimates, will be exhausted before the middle of the next century. Recognizing ecological impact, even hydropower is a limited alternative. Now it is generally recognized that the miracle atomic energy source is illusive due to cost on one hand and serious problems of nuclear waste disposal. No one knows when and whether fusion energy will become a reality. The Third World is in a hurry, not only to meet the basic needs of people, but also to industrialize and modernize. Most of the technologies for this purpose are oil dependent, and oil is becoming dearer each day. The present oil price of $35 a barrel will reach $100 a barrel by 1984. Unfortunately, none of the available energy sources can drive the engine of industrialization, although some of the alternative sources, if appropriately developed, can supplement sources which can meet the needs of the rural areas. Among the sources which can be and are being developed include ter-
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