America’s current and future way of life requires an adequate, available and affordable supply of energy. Our dependence on foreign energy sources can be used against us, to weaken our nation’s security and even to manipulate our nation’s economy. The burning of fossil fuels negatively affects our environment and these non-renewable energy sources will eventually be exhausted. As evidenced by current conflicts and the price of foreign oil, energy independence is critical to our nation’s future security and prosperity. Energy independence as a national goal has yet to be strongly stated and a plan to achieve it has yet to be clearly defined.

Based on an October, 2007 U.S. Government feasibility study, Space-Based Solar Power as an Opportunity for Strategic Security (http://www.space-frontier.org/Presentations/SBSPInterimAssesment0.1.pdf), Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) is a game-changing concept that has the potential to become an unlimited source of clean, safe energy. Space-Based Solar Power is the generation of electricity with orbiting solar collectors and the wireless transmission of the energy back to earth. While SBSP is a complex engineering challenge, it does not require any scientific breakthroughs to become a reality. The plan to achieve energy independence will include many technical, economic and political challenges. I believe the large-scale development and deployment of SBSP should be central to the plan.

To bring the concept and potential of Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) to fruition, a coordinated national program with high-level leadership, adequate funding and a long-term outlook is needed.

I invite you to learn more about SBSP and its potential to lead to energy independence. Pass this message along to your colleagues, committees and leadership. Most importantly, I urge you to use your political office and personal influence to support the development and deployment of SBSP.

The website Citizens for Space Based Solar Power (http://c-sbsp.org) offers resources to learn more about SBSP, to get started getting the word out and it also provides opportunities to make comments and suggestions. Your actions can and will make a positive difference for us and for future generations in America and worldwide.