D. INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES 1. Government regulations and the private sector interface with the SPS require further clarification with respect to electricity pricing, industry and labor relocation, private sector financing, and the role of federal and state agencies in land use and energy planning. 2. During the next decade, federal microwave exposure standards and international microwave exposure standards are expected to converge which would result in agreements on acceptable standards on the basis of definitive scientific data on microwave biological effects. The microwave flux in the vicinity of a receiving antenna could be designed to meet such prospective standards. 3. The international underwriting community may be willing to consider insuring SPS ground- and space-related risk exposures based on increasing familiarity with present and planned commercial satellite operations. E. INTERNATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS 1. An international organization such as COMSAT/INTELSAT to manage the development and subsequent commercialization of the SPS could be responsive to US energy needs, politically feasible, cost effective, conducive to international cooperation and acceptable to both developed and developing countries. 2. The United States could take the initiative and call for sharing of SPS development program costs among countries with and without space programs so that the benefits of space industrial activities could be widely distributed. 3. International agreements, perhaps including resident inspection teams at satellite facilities, could insure the nonmilitary use of the SPS and minimize vulnerability to attack. 4. The possible benefits of an SPS program are not just national, but global. International participation in its development would enhance the potential benefits, contribute to the improvement of international relations, and present an option in the context of global, political, legal and environmental and societal concerns. F. PUBLIC CONCERNS 1. Strategy options for the involvement of the public in the SPS development process were explored and the vital, legitimate and undeniable role of the public in participating in the decision process was recognized through a deliberate outreach program where public concerns were addressed. 2. Advocates and opponents agree that many of the impacts of the SPS program require further study. G. COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT The SPS was compared with alternative energy technologies, including coal, nuclear and terrestrial photovoltaics, in terms of cost and performance, health and safety, environmental effects, resource requirements, and institutional issues. The results were as follows:
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