The potential climatic impacts of five electrical energy techologies — coal combustion, light water nuclear reactors, the satellite power system (SPS), terrestrial photovoltaics (TPV), and fusion were assessed. The objectives of this assessment were to identify major issues surrounding the effect of technology deployment on climate and to assess the degree to which these five technologies might contribute to significant climatic changes. In the course of this work, the state of the art of climate study was reviewed and is described in this report. Particular focus is placed on the impacts of waste heat rejection, emissions of atmospheric aerosols, and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). Impacts are identified as being global, regional, or local in scale, and the tremendous uncertainties of attempting to predict the future climate are discussed. The potential impacts of the energy technologies on the climate were evaluated by comparing the emissions of heat or pollutants from each technology to the amount of such emissions currently considered necessary to produce significant climatic perturbations. Only operating emissions were considered, except for the SPS, which would involve emissions from heavy-lift launch vehicles (HLLV). Also considered were impacts resulting from individual facilities, clusters of facilities on a regional scale, and widespread utilization of technologies on a national or global scale. The major results of this comparative assessment appear in Sec. 3 (Table 3.4, p. 48) and are discussed in the following paragraphs. Waste Heat On a global scale, waste heat will not produce any detectable climatic change until world energy use increases by at least two orders of magnitude; thus, global waste heat will not be an issue for any of the technologies considered. On a regional scale, waste heat from energy facilities may produce some noticeable impacts on temperature, cloudiness, and precipitation patterns, particularly if facilities are sited close together, as in power parks. Due to its large size (100 km^),* an SPS rectenna may produce small temperature increases comparable to those occurring in a typical suburban area. The most noticeable waste heat impacts will occur on a local level, *See p. iv, "Definitions of Unit Symbols."
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