[ben_w]

Also needs a microwave frequency rectifier, plus installation costs are non-trivial as evidenced by the difference between the cost/W of a PV cell and a PV farm.

Also, cheapest ground-based PV in the world is 1.04¢/kWh (Saudi Arabia), and the cheapest in the USA is 1.50¢/kWh (New Mexico), so 0.7¢/kWh is already a large percentage.

https://commercialsolarguy.com/lowest-solar-power-prices-in-...

[DennisP]

Just to clarify, the 0.7 cents is total ground station cost, according to my source.

At ideal locations, ground solar is super cheap, but the microwave receiver works anywhere. Not needing storage is a big difference, too.

[ben_w]

That seems a bit optimistic, but I don't have the book, so OK.

(I really should get around to blogging what I think is wrong with this whole approach to space solar, where it works despite that, and how to improve on it for Earth usage; it comes up here every so often, and linking to my blog is easier than disjointed comments without images).