Link to document:
Status
Electronic Resource
Call number
Publication
ATR 79 7689 04 1; Report; January 1979.
Language
Library's review
ABSTRACT:
This report describes the current status of a study into societal impacts of alternative energy sources. Its motivation was provided by the fact that most studies conclude that the cost of electrical energy from solar plants is higher than that from equivalent fossil fuel plants when the
This report describes the current status of a study into societal impacts of alternative energy sources. Its motivation was provided by the fact that most studies conclude that the cost of electrical energy from solar plants is higher than that from equivalent fossil fuel plants when the
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calculations are based solely on direct (or internal) costs. The objective of this study is to determine whether a consideration of external costs would modify this conclusion substantially. Accordingly, it is necessary to formulate an operational definition of societal impact which would lend itself to quantification and thus make alternative energy sources objectively comparable. The kinds of external impacts which are considered in the present analysis include financial impacts, environmental impacts, and the effects of various government policies. Specific impacts within these categories are identified and a method of quantification developed for each so that their effects may be combined into a representative number. The method used to combine the identified internal and external factors is cost-benefit analysis. Show Less