If only GEO we3e6 km in circumference (was Earth intercepts one part in)

On Feb 3, 2012, at 9:13 AM, Matt Gallimore wrote:

> Al Globus wrote:
> >> What would be the area of the ground antennas? Large, but quite a
> bit smaller than needed to generate the same power with ground solar.
> From: William wlm_efn@...
> "Nope. Not "quite a bit smaller" at all, not if all the energy needs
> are going to be met, instead of just baseline electrical energy needs.
> "That would require about 8 percent of the entire land area of the
> lower-48 U.S.
> "Also area for ground-based solar can be put on top of things that
> are already there: buildings, houses and parking lots.
>
SSP receivers work 24/7, potentially have greater energy density, and
the input energy is at a known frequency so a lot more juice can be
delivered per unit area. With some frequencies, e.g., microwaves, you
can use the land under the antenna for agriculture.

Ground solar is a 'duh' for roof tops, and there is real progress.
I'm hoping my next roof is electric. That said, I'd prefer to keep as
much of the rest of Earth as green as possible.