Chernobyl as SPS Rectenna Site

A Rectenna is a "Receiving Antenna" which converts RF radiation into electrical power.

They would be a fundamental component of Solar Power Satellite systems.

The SPS rectenna can sited almost anywhere, but although the microwave radiation at low levels is harmless, public fear of microwave radiation exposure might cause rectennas to be sited in remote areas.

One interesting site might be the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, an uninhabited radioactive area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Ukraine which sprayed lethal radiation over a large area in 1986.

This is zone is patrolled by the Ukrainian military to make sure that no people enter. It is uninhabited. Yet the area is close to large population centers, and large industrial consumers of electric power. Also, it was a major hub for electricity distribution, from the reactor. So infrastructure already exists to connect a rectenna directly to the Ukranian power gird.