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10
Energy from Space for Sustainable
Commercial Power for Earth
David R. Criswell
10.1 Overview
In 2008, earth’s commercial power systems provided approximately 2250
watts of thermal power per person (2250 W
t
/person) to its 6.67 billon people.
This totals to approximately 15 terawatts of thermal power (15 TW
t
= 15 × 10
12
W
t
= 2250 W
t
/person × 6.67 × 10
9
people). However, they need the equivalent
of 6000–7500 W
t
/person of sustainable power for sustainable prosperity. So,
by 2050, 10 billion people will need approximately 75 TW
t
of thermal power.
Existing power systems are massive and move so much mass as mining wastes,
coal, oil, natural gas ...