NASA pessimistic about space-based solar power

For close to 50 years, energy futurists have touted solar energy straight from the source: space-based, sun-focused solar panels beaming electricity back to earth. Why try to replicate the enormous temperatures that power the fusion reactor that is our home star? How about fusion without the incredibly difficult terrestrial engineering challenges and no greenhouse gas emissions?

The U.S. space agency NASA lays out the allure of power directly from the sun: “Space-based solar power offers tantalizing possibilities for sustainable energy – in the future, orbital collection systems could harvest energy in space, and beam it wirelessly back to Earth. These systems could serve remote locations across the planet to supplement the terrestrial power transmission infrastructure required today.”

A massive Jan. 11 report from NASA then pours cold economic water on the hot topic of space-based solar power. The optimists about space-based solar overlook the costs in the glow of the enthusiasm, according to the report. In this respect, the advocates mimic the shortcomings other fans of far-off technologies such as earth-based fusion, magnetohydrodynamics, and coal gasification.

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