Comparison of capital investment requirements for alternative domestic energy supplies

Book · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6493266

One of the most important decisions government and private energy planners face is the selection of a capital-efficient, as well as cost-effective, strategy for supplying energy from domestic resources. This analysis compares capital requirements for each new domestic energy-supply source that could contribute in substantial quantity by the late 1980's to three end-use markets: residential and small commercial space heating; premium industrial fuels (e.g., process, feedstock, small boilers); large industrial boilers for steam and/or electricity generation. The estimates of average capital requirements developed in this analysis include resource extraction, processing and conversion, transmission and distribution, and the cost of end-use equipment for each market. Average thermal efficiencies and energy losses in each step are also included as part of the analysis. In general, domestic energy-supply and utilization systems based on gaseous fuels require substantially less (from 36 to 65%) new capital investment for all major end-use energy markets than equivalent nuclear, coal, and solar-electric systems or synthetic-liquids-based systems.

• OSTI ID: 6493266
• Report Number(s): NP-23531
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
292000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Supply
Demand & Forecasting
BOILERS
CAPITAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DECISION MAKING
ECONOMICS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY
ENERGY ANALYSIS
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
HEATING
INVESTMENT
NORTH AMERICA
POWER GENERATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SOLAR ENERGY
SPACE HEATING
STEAM GENERATION
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
USA