Would you feel safer is the Pentagon told you that they plan to send a satellite into orbit which can beam down microwaves and lasers from above? Does the premise bring about of the Death Star or Dr. Evil saying "Fire the laser?"

You don't need to worry about that too much because the plan is not meant for warfare. The Pentagon intends to back the NSSO's plan to send huge satellites into space to harness an almost-unlimited energy source: the sun.

Over the next 10 years, the Pentagon will dole out US$ 10 billion to build a satellite equipped with kilometer-long solar panels which will collect energy from the sun. High-tech photovoltaic cells will ensure that the power is maximized and sent down to antennas on Earth in the form of lasers and microwaves. If all goes well, the NSSO says we could be looking at a means to generate more electricity than fossil fuels, nuclear plants, and windmills combined can provide.

Peter Glaser, an engineer from the Arthur D. Little consulting firm first came up with this idea in 1968. The plan was forwarded to the U.S. government but huge costs and the danger entailed with having astronauts assemble the satellite in orbit stopped the proposal dead in its tracks. Today, however, things have changed.

Breakthroughs in robotics have been made so that astronauts won't have to risk their lives in space construction efforts. Photovoltaic advances will also mean that costs of bringing the plan to life will cost considerably less than it would have during the 70s. This also holds a potential solution for solving the puzzle in the search for an effective alternative to fossil fuels.

Finally, this effort by the Pentagon could mean that electricity can be accessed even in locations where it's hard to get by such as in Iraq where fuels have to pass dangerous routes before it reaches military installations. Remote civilian areas in developing countries will see more hope at powering up in the foreseeable future.