The trick is you don't let the microwave beam get very strong. If you keep it at a fraction of solar power (say, a few hundred watts per m^2) then it won't be t

The trick is you don't let the microwave beam get very strong. If you keep it at a fraction of solar power (say, a few hundred watts per m^2) then it won't be that dangerous. And yet because it's RF energy instead of solar energy and consistently at the same power 24/7 it's much, much easier to build the ground based infrastructure to collect and use the power. Also, it's pretty easy to keep the beam away from populated areas.