I'll answer in reverse order. Beaming power back is certainly one application, but not the one I had in mind. I was thinking these would be used to power thing

I'll answer in reverse order. Beaming power back is certainly one application, but not the one I had in mind. I was thinking these would be used to power things in space. The vast majority of electrical power used by stuff like satellites and space stations comes from solar power. Total mass, electrical power, and fuel are the major constraints in all of these systems. If there was a readily available source of solar arrays in space, then that could effectively remove that constraint, and relax the constraints on mass and fuel (since you don't have to bring the solar panels with you). Now, why would I want to do that? I'm one of those people that not only dreamed about going into space, but also assumed that the future of humanity was not on Earth, but out there. For that to happen, we need to be able to expand into the solar system, which just isn't going to happen if we need to move all of the materials we need out of Earth's gravity well. Finally, what have I done? To be honest, it probably isn't going to sound like much. I'm open to suggestions. Obviously, it's going to take a lot of money. Most of what I've done has been focused on being able to make a credible case to get funding. I'm working on my PhD, which builds my credentials. I network with other students in the field because it's going to take more than one person. In terms of actual pen to paper, I decided to work on the supply chain problem first. I'm working on calculations for what it would take to send a mission to an asteroid and bring the whole thing back as a possible scenario.