[ExI] extropy-chat Digest, Vol 101, Issue 42

[Keith Henson]

On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 1:54 PM,  Mirco Romanato <painlord2k at libero.it> wrote:

snip

>> Terrestrial (or even for the inner solar system) fusion for energy production
>> isn't going to happen. It's really hard to compete with the Sun.
>
> Unfortunately, the Sun is a bit far away and exploiting its energy is a
> bit problematic if you must sell it without resorting to government
> supported stealing and Ponzi schemes.

That's subject to a straightforward analysis.

For two cent per kWh power from solar can't cost more than $1600 per
installed kW.  Because of the peak to average factor of about 5, the
cost of a kWp needs to be around $200 for ground solar.

Even though the transmission cost 50%, it's more likely to reach this
figure for space based solar power because the support structure is so
much lighter.

Keith