Solar energy collecting satellites could beam pollution free, 'infinitely renewable' energy to the world

These "powersats" would catch the flood of energy flowing from the Sun and then pump it to Earth via laser or microwave beam. On earth it would be converted to electricity and fed into power grids to be tapped by terrestrial customers.

The thought of beaming energy to Earth via satellite was first brought to light in the late 1960s by Peter Glaser, a technologist at Arthur D. Little in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Into the 1970s and 1980s, the challenges of Space Solar Power (SSP) were reviewed numerous times. NASA, the Department of Energy, other government, industry and private groups have given the concept the once-over.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/solar_power_sats_011017-1.html