0191-9067/83 $3.00 + .00 Copyright ® 1984 SUNSAT Energy Council THE POTENTIAL OF SOLAR POWER SATELLITES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES N. JASENTULIYANA Executive Secretary Second United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Chief, Committee Services and Research Section Outer Space Affairs Division United Nations Secretariat and ROBIN A. LUDWIG Political Affairs Officer Outer Space Affairs Division United Nations Secretariat The world energy crisis of the seventies provided a severe, yet perhaps overdue awakening to nations of this planet long accustomed to abundant and inexpensive energy access. For other nations in which energy had not yet achieved such status, the energy crisis constituted a grave setback to all established plans of economic and social development. As a result, the decade of the eighties will prove a period of intensive energy research and experimentation as national priorities are reexamined and adjusted to suit today's energy realities. The era of abundant fossil fuels has ended. For nations across the globe, the search for energy resources has seriously begun. For the developing countries, however, this search is both vital and urgent. As research efforts begin to focus on the development of new sources of energy, considerable attention has been devoted to the costs and benefits of such renewable resources as wind, geothermal energy and solar energy. Solar energy, now being tested in various forms throughout the world, has emerged as a resource of particular potential. Many of the solar experiments to date have proved successful without requiring extensive capitalization or skilled manpower; however, the benefits of individual and often isolated experiments have not proved sufficient to satisfy energy needs on a national or regional basis. The energy needs of today demand a comprehensive and integrated approach. As a result, farsighted planners have advanced the possibility of establishing regional or even global programs which might meet the energy requirements of the future. Among such programs, the concept of a satellite solar power system has received considerable attention. For developing countries in particular, such a system would appear to promise a solution to the greatest obstacle presently threatening their future development. Following more detailed consideration, however, the difficulties of establishing such
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