result from the application of conventional pricing analyses. This increment or surcharge is, however, probably smaller than the deviations associated with the uncertainty of the basic cost parameters. f. Estimates of Terrestrial Generation Costs The projection of terrestrial energy generation costs as of the indicated initial operating dates for the SSPS (1990-1995) requires a host of assumptions including but not limited to: fuel cost inflation, capital cost inflation, the mix of different types of energy at that time, and the extent to which environmental regulation will add to capital and operating costs, in addition to the selection of an appropriate and comparable discount factor. Virtually none of the references agree on all or even most of these assumptions and, consequently, estimates differ widely. In most instances, the estimates are not presented in sufficient detail to permit reconstruction of a standardized basis. Nor is it clear in many cases whether the same assumptions are used for terrestrial and SSPS costs. One of the few internally explicit and consistent comparisons is by ECON (Ref. All) which shows competitive energy costs ranging from 16 to 27 mills for coal-generated power in 1995 and from 21 to 47 mills for oil-generated energy. These estimates may be compared with their projected SSPS costs of 27 mills without DDT&E recovery and a minimum of 31 mills with DDT&E recovery. ECON has defined the conditions under which (approximate) economic power can be derived from an SSPS program. These conditions incorporate highly favorable values of the relevant parameters which indicates that it will not be easy to achieve the necessary economic performance. Therefore, ECON concludes that it would not be economically justifiable to embark on a major development or prototype SSPS program at this time. However, they go on to note that the potential economic benefits of the approach would appear to warrant a significant study effort. 3. Environmental Effects The potential environmental impacts of satellite-based power systems are repeated in Exhibit 56. Social impacts include land use considerations, questions of public safety, and potential radio frequency
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