Everything else discussed previously is very spot on. I had the opportunity to take a class regarding the social impacts of wind energy during my senior year and learned a great deal regarding the matter. While there are problems, especially with the lack of cost-effective storage, these problems may be overcome in the future with advances in super-conductive materials (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/doe-exploring-superconducting-magnet-scheme-grid-scale-energy-storage). I am in no way saying that we should dispose of natural gas, just that we should not completely write off wind power.

Currently, payload launch-to-orbit costs are the single biggest hurdle to developing and deploying space based solar power. While it would be a massive and complex engineering project, no basic science breakthroughs are needed before space based solar power could be implemented.

Space based solar power is not a short-term solution to our energy needs. Domestic fossil fuel resources would provide a “bridge” to its eventual implementation … but fossil fuel will be a “bridge to nowhere”, unless we start developing space based solar power very soon.

Rob Mahan
Citizens for Space Based Solar Power*

*I’m a purely self-appointed advocate, and I have no financial stake in space based solar power. I simply believe that it will eventually be the solution to our energy future.

As blacks become more frequent and the grid becomes strained and as prices continue to go up, wind power will become more popular.

However, it is folly to try to replace or substantially augment the USA electric power grid with these sources which are best used for pumping water for livestock or operating night lights or farm gates. To do so is much like trying to use the rubber band that turns the propellor of a toy plane to provide power for an automobile; pure folly and not financially sustainable.