8.4. White Paper: Mary Woodell POWER FROM SPACE: PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL RISK AS A PREREQUISITE FOR COMMERCIALIZATION Mary L Woodell Senior Principal Bivings Woodell, Inc. 1250 24th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20037 Abstract Commercialization of any new technology requires fulfilling three criteria: technical feasibility, functional safety, and market demand. Experts generally agree that using microwave technology in space to generate power is feasible, and most believe it to be safe, although longitudinal exposure data do not yet exist. Where expert consensus breaks down is with regard to market demand, concerning which opinion varies and available data are soft to the point of insignificance. Given the traditional focus of scientific research and development, it is not surprising that marketplace issues command a lesser priority than those of the research lab. However, lack of understanding of market demand creates an insuperable barrier to successfill commercialization. The technical community, having satisfied itself of feasibility, must move on: to confirming fundamental safety, and, at the same time, to dealing aggressively with market issues. This paper discusses public acceptance as a fundamental requirement for market demand and explores perception of risk as a key component in the decision-making processes that lead to meeting this requirement. Using current research data and historical experience, this paper focuses on the market for space solar power (SSP) as an alternative source of energy, and seeks to raise basic questions that may challenge the technical community to make the leap from theory to practice. Introduction The question of market demand is in many respects unexplored territory for the scientific and technical community, especially for that segment engaged in so-called "pure" research. One reason for this may be that, both by training and by temperament, scientific experts who focus on furthering knowledge and expanding the limits of feasibility have traditionally done so to the exclusion of commercial consideration.
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