| Budget Amount *help |
¥6,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,500,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥3,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2001: ¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
For this field research separate visits were made to Brazil (Amazonia), Malaysia (Sarawak), Eastern Kiribati (Christmas Island), and Sao Tome & Principe (islands near Gabon on the west coast of equatorial Africa). In each country research was performed to identify a suitable site for a rectenna (microwave power receiving antenna) for an SPS pilot plant in low equatorial orbit (SPS 2000), and one or more candidate sites were selected. In the cases of Brazil, Malaysia and Kiribati these visits were second visits to the same country, since siting two or more rectennas in each of these countries could maximise the overall number of rectennas, which need to be separated by about 1200 kilometers in the west-east direction.
In Brazil, after meeting government officials in the capital, Brazilia, visits were made to the Amazonia National Research Institute (INPA) in Manaus, the main city in Amazonia, and then to a candidate rectenna site in the Amazon jungle.
In Malaysia a visit was made to the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)in Johor Baru, from where a colleague joined the visit to Kuching in Borneo island. Discussions of rectenna siting with colleagues from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNTMAS) included chartering a helicopter to observe the large areas of low-lying prawn farms over which a rectenna could be sited.
In Christmas Island discussions were held with the government representative for the Line and Phoenix Islands, and candidate rectenna sites were visited which could provide valuable electric power supplies to local villages.
The visit to Sao Tome was accompanied by a colleague from Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM) in Gabon. After discussions with government engineering staff responsible for solar energy development, visits were made to several potential sites in the more populated northern part of Sao Tome where several candidate sites were identified.
|
