[ExI] Power satellites are being developed now

[Adrian Tymes]

On Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:
> The SPEED act is likely to go into effect in the USA soon, which will fast track traditional power generation over the slower cleaner pricier approaches such as satellite, solar, wind and nuclear.  The price of coal and natural gas is down.

Contrast this with solar getting ever cheaper (to the point that
continued subsidies no longer have as strong a case).  Unlike with
coal or gas, once you install the generators, the cost of generation
doesn't go up.  Granted, solar panels have a limited lifespan - but so
do coal and gas plants, only around double.  (My first solar install
lasted 20 years, which I hear is typical, and I'm told a typical coal
plant has a design lifetime of 40-50 years.)

The case for primarily fossil fuel as the primary means to serve new
power demands appears rather weak.  Of course, the actual solution
will involve contributions from many sources: it's not "no new coal"
or "no new solar", but rather, which one makes more sense in most
cases?