restrial solar energy devices such as solar cookers, dryers, distillators, pumps, heaters, etc.; bioenergy and energy forests. Recent bioenergy developments, particularly in China (with 7 million biogas plants) and in India (with more than 1 million plants), offer a viable alternative in the rural areas, at least for cooking and lighting. But none of these energy sources can meet the demand of industrialization in the Third World. It is clear from the Indian example. ENERGY CRISIS IN INDIA With 645 million people living in an area one third the size of the United States, and 78% of the people living in 600,000 villages, India offers a formidable example of the energy crisis. The only bountiful energy source in India is low grade coal with gross reserves of 80 billion tons. At present approximately 100 million tons of coal is consumed annually. Within the next 20 years the consumption will go up to 650 million tons. India has limited supply of oil despite new finds at the Bombay High. At present the demand for oil is 40 million tons, almost 50% of which is imported at the cost of Rs 30 billion ($ 1 — Rs 8). By the end of the century, the requirement for crude oil for approximately 935 million people will be in the order of 150 million tons while the domestic capacity of production will not exceed 50 million tons a year. It is more likely that by that time or by 2005 most of the oil reserves in India will be exhausted imposing a terrifying crisis for India's development unless alternative sources of energy have been developed. It does not seem likely that the global energy situation will change in the forsee- able future. While the over-consumption of energy in the U.S. will not decline, OPEC will not reduce prices of oil even for developing countries. One imperative of the global reality is that India, as well as other developing countries, must explore nonconventional sources of energy, among the most important being solar power. Recent research in the development of solar energy holds unlimited possibilities. Besides being the source of many other forms of energy, it is abundant in the tropical regions. Solar radiation, on an average of 8 hours is 0.90 kW, which, if trapped can meet at least 15% of the energy requirements in the villages. Since villages are dispersed over thousands of miles, such a decentralized development would be of marginal cost and would supply clean energy perennially. Since the overall requirements of energy in Third World countries are so vast, it does not seem likely that any one of these sources, or even all of them together, will meet the increasing demands of industrialization. For good or bad, all these countries are embarked on massive industrialization programs from which none of them plan to turn back. It is in these circumstances that the potential and the viability of the SPS must be assessed, and if the evaluation proves positive, then these countries cannot escape participating in the international efforts to develop it in order to share its benefits for socioeconomic progress. SOLAR POWER SATELLITE FOR THE THIRD WORLD The discovery of the sun for the unlimited potential to supply energy has been only recent with the advances in physics, astronomy, chemistry, and space science. Many fundamental researches point to technological developments, by which ter-
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