WASHINGTON -- Ask anybody in California. The term "power to the people" has taken on new meaning. Electrical energy shortfalls throughout that state have led to disruptive rolling blackouts, emergency power purchases and highly charged public outcries.

California's electrical woes may well be mirrored throughout an increasingly energy-hungry United States in future years.

That bleak prospect earned a few minutes of speech time by newly elected President George W. Bush last Tuesday. "We have a serious energy problem that demands a national energy policy," President Bush said in his first speech to Congress.

"Our energy demand outstrips our supply. We can produce more energy at home while protecting our environment, and we must. We can produce more electricity to meet demand, and we must. We can promote alternative energy sources and conservation, and we must. America must become more energy independent, and we will," Bush said.

Sky-high solution

Now consider that some 6 billion humans are huddled together on this third rock from the Sun. Energy demands around the globe are growing in a quest for prosperity and independence for all.

One sky-high solution is a promising renewable energy technology -- space solar-power systems. These systems could feed electricity to Earth around-the-clock.

 Power-beaming satellites are not new. The idea has energized considerable study, discussion and debate for nearly 35 years.

What's new is the fast-paced march of technology. Furthermore, numbers of countries, including Japan, France, Germany and Canada are carrying out studies as well as experiments to scope out the promise of transmitting solar energy via laser or microwave link from space to power grids on Earth.

"Space solar power is something that should be explored seriously, not written off as science fiction," said Bryan Erb, president of the Sunsat Energy Council in Houston, Texas. Advances in materials, higher-efficiency solar cells, space robotics to build the large structures -- all these and other developments contribute to making a cost-effective space power system, he told SPACE.com.

Experts also point out that solar energy gathered in Earth orbit can be conveyed via wireless transmission not only to terra firma, but to spots in space as well.

Fresh look

NASA has taken a fresh look at the viability of large-scale space solar-power systems, doing so over the last few years, said John Mankins, NASA manager for the Human Exploration and Development of Space Technology and Commercialization Initiative.

"Reasonable progress is being made. Technical hurdles have been better explored. Nevertheless, major technical, regulatory and conceptual hurdles continue to exist," Mankins said.

NASA has crafted a strategic road map for space solar power (SSP).

Next page: Point-to-point power

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Point-to-point

Mankins said that by 2006-2007, demonstrations of wireless power transmission could be carried out at the International Space Station. A 100-kilowatt power class SSP platform might also test out point-to-point wireless power transmission in this time period.

By the 2011-2012 time frame, a 1-megawatt class SSP platform could validate space-to-space and space-to-surface wireless power transmission, Mankins said.

Within the next 15-20 years, an SSP platform cranking out 10-megawatts of energy might be workable. By 2025-2035, a full-scale SSP platform looks feasible and capable of producing 1-2 gigawatts of power. Ultimately, Mankins said, in the post-2050 time frame, a 10-gigawatt power class SSP platform could become viable.

An incremental, stepping up of power levels would shake out SSP technologies and power management ideas. Terrestrial power beaming and a range of space science, exploration and commercial activities in Earth orbit -- such as space business parks or energizing large communications platforms -- could be supported by taking this approach, Mankins said.

Near-term market

Is there a market for in-space delivery of power?

"You bet," said Molly Macauley, research fellow at Resources for the Future, a think tank on energy and environmental issues. Communications satellites and remote-sensing spacecraft would benefit by being recharged from time-to-time by a power-beaming satellite, she said.

"It would be great even if the International Space Station didn't have to have those big, cumbersome football field sized arrays," Macauley said. "An SSP could be like in-flight refueling -- constantly," she said.

"Right now, there's a near-term market for this. The question is how do we configure the SSP system to best serve that market? That's the next step," Macauley said.

View from Congress

Orbiting power stations as an environmentally friendly, economical energy technology for Earth is strongly backed by Margo Deckard, director and space solar-power project manager for the Space Frontier Foundation, based in Studio City, California.

At a Feb. 28 "Space Roundtable" on Capitol Hill here, Deckard joined other SSP supporters to discuss space solar power as an investment in our energy future. She emphasized that a natural development plan for SSP is needed.

Deckard and the Space Frontier Foundation called for a government role in the early stages of SSP technology development, with private industry commercializing the technology in the later stages.

To kick the effort off, Deckard proposed that NASA establish a space solar-power program akin to the space agency's Discovery-class armada of cheaper, better, faster spacecraft. "Specifically, we are calling for a five-year program, at a total cost of $295 million, to enable a space-to-Earth power transmission demonstration.

"We also believe that not only will SSP deliver a benefit to consumers on Earth, but will also contribute to opening the space frontier to human settlement by providing power in space," she said.

It seems that power-beaming satellites may have already found a friend in Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-California), chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee in the House of Representatives.

"I think we need to take positive steps toward space solar-power systems," the lawmaker told the round table, promising to push for new SSP research monies over the next few years. "We need to move in a step-by-step manner," Rohrabacher said.

"It's a real possibility to have a great new energy source for mankind," Rohrabacher said.