C. Comparison With Conventional and Other Advanced Systems The economic viability of SPS will be dependent upon the costs and economics of alternative conventional and other future power systems. Figure XI-3 shows a summary of typical power-generation costs for baseload conventional systems and several advanced concepts receiving research and development interest (and funding) at this time. The range of costs shown for each of the conventional systems corresponds to sitespecific variations such as local environmental constraints, local labor and materials costs, land and site preparation costs, and fuel cost varia- The cost of coal-fired plants varies greatly depending upon the degree of stack gas scrubbing required and the type of cleanup system utilized. The conventional nuclear systems shown are light water reactors (pressurized water and boiling water). It is expected that the fast breeder reactor (liquid metal cooled) will have a capital cost in the $800 to $900/kW range. The highest cost conventional systems are coal and nuclear, which are becoming the major electrical power sources for the last quarter of this century. As with SPS, the other advanced power systems shown generally have higher capital costs ($/kW) than the conventional systems, but have zero-to- minimal fuel costs. The technical and economic feasibility of these systems is currently being investigated by ERDA and others. Although not shown in figure XI-3, nuclear fusion is another advanced power-generation system that currently receives significant research and development funding; however, major technological breakthroughs are still required before total system definition may be accomplished. The range of power-generation costs for the advanced systems is 28 to 55 mil Is/kWh for the ocean thermal system to 97 to 121 mi Ils/kWh for ground-based solar thermal systems. The solar thermal systems could not be strictly classified as a baseload system because only limited (shortterm) energy storage is provided. The wind power-generation system cost is based on the "fuel saver" operational mode wherein the wind system operates in parallel with conventional plants when windspeeds are within a specified range, thus effecting a reduction of fuel consumption in the conventional plants. In this mode of operation, the wind plant annual capacity factor, which is a measure of equipment utilization, is very low (30 to 40 percent at best). Also shown in the figure is the range of costs estimated for the SPS. The possible SPS costs span the range from a low of 29 mills/kWh for the lightest weight, lowest transportation and unit cost system to 115 mills/kWh for the highest weight, highest transportation and unit cost system. At the low range, the SPS cost is competitive with current conventional systems, and the highest estimated cost is no greater than that of other advanced systems presently receiving research and development support.
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