0191-9067/82/020151-15S03.00/0 Copyright ® 1982 SUNSAT Energy Council THE NEAR-TERM OUTLOOK FOR SPACE SOLAR POWER: SOCIETAL TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS IN THE 1980s STEPHEN L. KLINEBERG Department of Sociology Rice University Houston, Texas Abstract — It is becoming clear that the evolution of U.S. energy policy in interaction with significant societal trends will generate continued and probably insurmountable opposition through the 1980s to any major R&D investment in space solar power. Recent public opinion polls reveal a dramatic disengagement from the traditional American faith in an unlimited future, a pervasive distrust of government and corporate leadership, a new skepticism about the benefits of science and technology, and a continuing concern for environmental protection. Much of public opinion is thus predisposed to resist costly investments in high- technology energy options. Moreover, the general slowing of economic growth, in conjunction with the success of conservation efforts and the widespread appeal of on-site renewable energy systems, make it appear unlikely that the unmet need for centrally-generated electricity will grow sufficiently in the 1980s to justify the level of front-end investment demanded by the SPS program. The near-term outlook for space solar power is dim. In the longer term, however, as societal patterns continue to evolve and U.S. space capabilities expand, the SPS concept is likely to be given more serious consideration. INTRODUCTION In December 1980, the U.S. Department of Energy published the results of a three- year, $19.5 million evaluation of the solar power satellite (SPS) concept. The report summarized a wide array of studies that sought to measure all aspects of this new and complex technological system, not only with regard to its scientific and engineering challenges, but also in its economic, environmental, and societal ramifications. Three years of research confirmed the technical feasibility of collecting solar energy in space for use in producing electricity on Earth, in a system that could provide continuous power, generated from an inexhaustible source and produced in sufficiently concentrated form to meet the demands of modem industry and organized societies (1). The report concluded that there are no technical hurdles in the way of solar power satellites as a major alternative energy source. In other words, as Peter Glaser (2) put it, “there is no single constraint preventing us from continuing to the next phase of the SPS R&D program.” Supported by the report's endorsement, the project's backers called upon the federal government for a commitment of $150 million over a five-year period in order to continue the research program in carefully phased steps that would permit an Research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations (Contract No. DE-AS05- 79ER10072).
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