The solution is to localize the delivery of electricity, says David Criswell, director of the Institute for Space Systems Operation at University of Houston. To do that, he would start on the Moon.
No blackouts
"Commercial power from the Moon could have avoided the blackout yesterday," Criswell told SPACE.com. "Each receiver on Earth would be fed independently from the Moon. If you need more or less power you just adjust the beams."
The power would be generated by capturing solar energy at the lunar surface, with receivers that are always pointing at the Sun, then beaming microwaves to Earth.
New York's power would not be linked to that of Detroit or Toronto.
These three cities, along with others, suffered major blackouts that in all affected an estimated 50 million people through last night and into today. While the exact cause remains unknown, officials suspect a problem at a single location fueled a cascade of failures across an interconnected grid of transmission lines and facilities.
More directed delivery would still rely on transmission lines, but not the extensive system used today, Criswell argues.
Still vulnerable to attack
Proposals to beam microwaves from the Moon or from Earth-orbiting satellites have been on the table for years. An independent study commissioned by NASA in 2000 concluded that research should continue, but that it was too soon to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the ideas.
Molly Macauley, who led that study, said today that space-based power is a real possibility over the next two decades but that it is unlikely to replace power lines and generation facilities.
Instead, energy from space would more likely supplement current generation facilities and flow into existing grids, said Macauley, a senior fellow in the Energy and Natural Resources Division of Resources for the Future, a Washington think tank.
"We're still going to be susceptible to transmission and distribution problems," she said, and those are "the most vulnerable to outages or even terrorist attacks"
While research into the technology is indeed ongoing, even Criswell agree your toaster will not be powered from space for at least a decade.
Giant receivers
Receivers would not be traditional antennas, but rather broad, translucent tent-like structures that would receive microwaves and convert them to electricity.
Supplying New York City would require a tent of roughly 15 square miles (40 square kilometers), Criswell said. It could be installed over an agricultural area and still allow farming underneath. Or it could sit atop a swamp.
Despite the expansive structures, Criswell says solar power delivered from space would tie up less area than present power-generation facilities, when coal mines, transmission lines and all other facilities are taken into account.
Criswell figures a financial commitment on par with the Apollo era could bring the first jolt of otherworldly electricity down to the ground in 12-15 years. He argues that most of Earth's people do not have commercial power today and that power from beyond would improve their lot.
"You could power the entire world by 2050, and that world would be prosperous," he said.
Macauley argues that though it should become technologically possible to convert almost entirely to space-based power, the reality will involve fights with groups opposed for various reasons.
"There is tremendous opposition to siting cell towers" in some communities, she points out. "There's going to be vociferous opposition to these localized power planets."
How vulnerable are we?
It's not clear in the immediate aftermath of the outages -- with the root cause not fully determined -- whether Criswell's cause will be taken up as a way to thwart future terrorist attacks.
Jim Melnick, director of threat intelligence at iDefense, said the outages do reveal to terrorists how vulnerable the power grids are.
"The American system has responded well to it," he said. "There hasn't been mass panic. But from the standpoint of terrorists … they certainly will be thinking about it more."
Melnick's company advises private and public organizations on how to protect their communication infrastructures. The company is currently attempting to monitor the communications of known terrorists to see what effect the blackouts might have on their plans, he said.
The field of "critical infrastructure protection" -- meaning power grids as well as other vital communication systems -- is a high priority among clients, Melnick said. "This just shows ever more clearly that it needs constant attention." But Melnick is not sure a space-based power system solves anything. "If the girds were set up differently, we would probably have other issues to deal with."
Not the only weak spot
Aftergood, of the Federation of American Scientists, thinks government and industry should certainly try to learn from the blackouts and work to reduce vulnerabilities.
"But is this a particularly high target for terrorists? I don't know," he said, noting the minimal injuries and casualties so far reportedly related to the outages. "Economic effects are likely to be significant but bearable, and it’s a huge disruption. Is it comparable to an act of war? I wouldn't say so."
And anyway, Aftergood says, weak spots surround us.
"We will never finish the task of eliminating vulnerabilities," he said. "The task that we have is managing risk."
He is intrigued by the idea of power from space.
"There is this huge engine of power production out there called the Sun," he said. "We have yet to take full advantage of it. I don't know if power beaming is a realistic option in the near term [but] it's the kind of thing that needs to be looked at every few years to see if the relevant technologies have matured and to see whether this notion is on the verge of becoming reality."
Energy is a vital resource worldwide, Aftergood notes, "and it is also at the root of many areas of conflict. Anything that can be done to relieve the pressure on energy consumption is worth close attention."
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