Waste heat impacts from all five technology types should be minor on a global scale. However, on a regional level the SPS rectenna will produce effects similar to an urban or suburban heat island. Nuclear power parks could have significant waste heat impacts on a mesoscale, including precipitation and fog enhancement, as well as possible triggering of severe weather. Individual power plants should not produce significant regional impacts, but individual coal and nuclear power plants may produce significant local impacts, particularly if cooling towers are used. Overall, it appears that coal technologies present the greatest risk of the five for producing global climatic change. This is primarily because of the large amount of CO2 emitted during coal combustion, and to a lesser extent, the emission of particles and other greenhouse gases. The SPS does not appear to provide any major risks to the climate, although the impact of HLLV emissions on the stratosphere has not been adequately established. Large central-station applications of terrestrial photovoltaics may produce noticeable local waste heat impacts, and the impacts of waste heat release from nuclear power parks could be substantial.
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