Assessing the world market

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Independent Energy; (United States)

OSTI ID:5484888

Poirier, J L; Meade, B

Over the last eight years, the growth of the market for independent energy facilities in the United States has been spectacular. A combined capacity of about 29,300 MW, from over 2,500 independent energy facilities, has come on line since 1980 and the industry has experienced an annual growth of more than 15 percent per year. This trend is not limited to the United States, however, Governments around the world are recognizing the benefits of privately-owned independent energy plants. The interest is growing as the need for new capacity increases and as more projects are built and operated successfully using private capital. There are several reasons for the trends toward private power around the world. First, in developed countries, a growing need for new power capacity emerged after the 1983-1987 freeze when most utilities in developed countries reaped the benefits of increased energy conservation and halted any further construction. Now the demand is catching up and most large utilities are experiencing the same hesitations as their U.S. counterparts. Second, in less developed countries (LDCs), the increasing demand for new generating capacity stems from high annual growth rates in power demand -generally between four percent and seven percent per year. At the same time, these countries are expanding their power grid, which increases the opportunities for new plants in regions with limited service where delegation of power generation authority to third-parties can be more easily justified. Third, an increasing number of countries worldwide are eying industrial cogeneration and private power facilities favorably. Finally, lending institutions and donor agencies are becoming more interested in promoting cogeneration and private power, often as part of larger privatization schemes.

• OSTI ID: 5484888
• Journal Information: Independent Energy; (United States), Journal Name: Independent Energy; (United States) Vol. 20:1; ISSN 1043-7320; ISSN XY987
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
292000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Supply
Demand & Forecasting
293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
296000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
CAPACITY
CAPITALIZED COST
COGENERATION
COMPETITION
COST
DEMAND
DEUS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMICS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC POWER
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY DEMAND
ENERGY SYSTEMS
FINANCING
GLOBAL ASPECTS
INDUSTRY
LAWS
MARKET
NATIONAL ENERGY ACT
NORTH AMERICA
OWNERSHIP
POWER
POWER GENERATION
PUBLIC UTILITIES
PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT
STEAM GENERATION
USA