[frogstamper]

[quote]"A single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous Earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today," the report said.[/qoute]

When you consider the above statement I believe it will not be a case of "if" but more like "when". Between when this idea was first floated in the 70s until recently in the 90s it has become more feasible, cost wise, so as the price of oil continues to sky rocket with ever more demand on global supplies by emerging economies like China and India, I'd say it will become a necessity.