LUNAR SOLAR POWER SYSTEM FOR ENERGY PROSPERITY WITHIN THE 21ST CENTURY: "LUNAR SOLAR POWER SYSTEM FOR ENERGY PROSPERITY WITHIN THE 21ST CENTURY
Dr. David R. Criswell
Institute for Space Systems Operations, University of Houston
Houston, TX U.S.A.
1. Introduction
Approximately6 kWt/person or, eventually, 2 kWe/person can enable energy prosperity. Note that 't' refers to thermal energy and 'e' to electric energy. For a population of 10 billion people, anticipated by 2050, this implies 60,000 GWt or 20,000 GWe. For purposes of discussion, assume that power usage continues to be high to 2070. From 2000 to 2070 the world would consume approximately 3,000,000 GWt-Y or 1,000,000 GWe-Y of energy [1, 2, 3, 4]. It is highly unlikely that conventional fossil, nuclear, and terrestrial renewable power systems can provide the power needed by 2050 and the total energy consumed by 2070. They are restricted by limited supplies of fuels, pollution and wastes, irregular supplies of renewable energy, costs of creating and operating the global systems, and other factors.
It is technically and economically feasible to provide at least 100,000 GWe of solar electric energy from facilities on the Moon. The Lunar Solar Power (LSP) System can supply to Earth power that is independent of the biosphere and does not introduce CO2, ash, or other material wastes into the biosphere. Inexhaustible new net electrical energy provided by the LSP System enables the creation of new net material wealth on Earth that is decoupled from the biosphere. Given adequate clean electric power, humanity's material needs can be acquired from common resources and recycled without the use of depletable fuels [4, 5]. LSP power increases the ability of tomorrow's generations to meet tomorrow's need"

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WHY GO TO THE MOON? TO PROVIDE POWER TO THIS BLUE MARBLE. - LRK -