Friday, June 15, 2012

The Total Lifetime Cost of Energy.

The Forbes Magazine story "The Naked Cost of Energy -- Stripping Away Financing and Subsidies," posted this interesting graph of our energy choices and their costs. What they didn't seem to consider was the eventual price reductions via competition and oversupply.

This should clear up any remaining questions about green energy. Again, wind prices should drop dramatically. Nuclear may appear low now, but the outlays for ;newer plants are overwhelming.


Nuclear: Unfortunately, the $7 billion price tag of a single AP1000 nuke plant exceeds the entire financial portfolio of most utilities.  Thus, the need for loan guarantees or some way to finance big projects which, in the long-run, are cheaper for the consumer and society as a whole. Almost all of the nuclear plant fiascos of the 1970s and 1980s were actually financing and planning debacles, not a fault of the technology.

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