Beam me down, Scotty

Beaming energy from orbit to Earth, to me, seems beyond futuristic. 

While I was at an event recently, someone mentioned that this technology is “nothing new”. Is that true? Space-based solar power systems have been researched since the 1970s. I recently learned that the idea featured in science fiction short story “Reason” by Isaac Asimov, which may be the first known disclosure of this technology. So it’s safe to say that the general principal of this technology is not new. 

However, it is only in recent years that this technology has started to become viable from an economic standpoint. That is, improvements to existing technology have allowed teams such as the one at the Cavendish Laboratory to develop the technology to the point that commercialisation is in sight. 

This highlights the importance of protecting inventions which build upon already known inventions. Since research started in the 1970s, one can imagine that hundreds of inventions have been devised that together have brought this space-based solar power to where it is today. So, in answer to the above question: yes, there’s a lot new here.