NEW ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT Once technical feasibility of a new energy source is established, it requires 20 to 30 years to develop the industrial technology and demonstrate the economic feasibility of the new source. Another 10 to 15 years are required to prove the reliability and allow the utilities to establish the operational suitability of the new source. It would require another 30 to 50 years to establish a significant generating capacity, depending on the evolving economics of other sources of energy. From present and possible future trends in fossil fuel cost (in 1975 dollars), it appears that the cost target for a new nondepletable, nonpolluting energy source should be 20-30 mills/kwh. If this target can be achieved over the 30 to 45 years required to develop the new source, it would result in a greatly reduced demand for fossil fuel and would stabilize the cost of energy at the eventual price of the nondepletable source.
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