assumption that ultimately 100 SSPS's would be built, the burden would be $40 per kilowatt (less than 5% of the capital cost), with the entire development cost of the transportation and delivery system and the SSPS development cost charged to the program. The SSPS development program can be planned as an option with clearly identified development and decision points. Therefore, no commitment to the commercial SSPS program need be made until the technology development, verification, and prototype development phases have been successfully concluded. Key Economic Considerations. — The three key economic issues that should be addressed when making an-economic comparison of the SSPS with other means of generating power are: 1. The costs and benefits associated with the project; 2. The macro-economic interindustry effect produced by the project; and 3. The consumption effects created by the project. The costs and benefits associated with the project are evaluated to determine the economic feasibility of an investment of this type. Such an evaluation asks the question whether the expenditure of funds on this project will produce a product which will earn the total economy a satisfactory rate of return and thereby be considered as a worthy undertaking. This analysis must take into account the social and environmental side effects of both the old and the new technology. The macro-economic interindustry effects produced by the project are examined to analyze the effects such an investment might have on the structure of the economy as a whole. This analysis can best be accomplished by using an input-output model of the economy to test the industry effects. The consumption effects created by the project will be reflected in both the cost/benefit analysis and the analysis of macro-economic interindustry effects, but because of its importance, it is an issue worthy of separate consideration and attention. It is concerned with total energy requirements, the impact on the capital, management, and labor resources of the U.S. economy, and with the demand for raw material and the effect on prices of those materials in the face of a massive demand. These key issues relate not only to an efficiency criterion, where an optimal allocation of scarce resources is the sole objective, but also to indicate the effects associated with large-scale changes that might be created in the economic structure. At the very least an analysis of industry and consumption effects would identify groups that would be affected. a. Cost /Benefit Analysis The first part of the economic evaluation of the SSPS consists of a cost/benefit approach to determine the value of an investment of this type. A cost/benefit approach to determine the economic feasibility of a project is very similar to an evaluation undertaken by a private corporation
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