1. United States
2. S.C.
3. Letter

A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish a space-based solar power demonstration program. Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the “Space Solar Power Demonstration Act of 2026.” Section 2. Findings. Congress finds the following: (1) The United States imports billions of dollars of oil and gas every year, sending American money overseas while our own energy costs keep rising. (2) A space-based solar system would generate clean power day and night, rain or shine, anywhere on Earth — no pipelines, no foreign suppliers, no dependence on other countries. (3) The United States already did the research. NASA and the Air Force studied this in the 1970s and 1980s, and Caltech flew a wireless power transmission experiment in 2023. (4) This technology could power military bases and disaster zones that can’t rely on local grids. (5) A small demonstration would cost an estimated $10 to $50 million — a modest investment to see if this can eventually power the entire American grid. Section 3. Demonstration Program. The Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of NASA shall jointly establish a space-based solar power demonstration program. The program shall include the design, construction, and launch of a small demonstration satellite capable of generating and transmitting power from orbit to a receiving station on Earth. Section 4. Authorization of Appropriations. There is authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 to carry out this Act. Please understand that this is less money going overseas,power that works anywhere, and a cheap test to see if it can run the whole grid.