be greatly simplified. This section will deal with the cost of providing energy with no environmental effects taken into consideration. Two dimensions of energy cost are important. One dimension is the cost of the initial emplacement of an energy generating facility, say an electrical power plant. This cost is expressed in dollars per kilowatt (kW) of capacity. The other dimension is the cost to deliver a unit of energy; e.g., x cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). The first of these dimensions is especially important in the Developing Countries where, as we have shown, most of the growth in energy supply will be needed. This situation occurs because such countries frequently have difficulties raising capital for energy infrastructure. As a result, they usually opt for those approaches which have a low initial cost, even though this might be less economical in the longer run. Typical costs derived from a number of references [7,8,9] are shown in figure 8. Note that some sources, the fossil, hydro and nuclear, can provide base load power; i.e., it can be available at any time. Wind and terrestrial solar are strongly dependent on the time of day and thus provide "peak" power, typically for only part of the day. For these sources to provide complete solutions, storage would have to be provided resulting in a cost several times higher. Figure 8 shows clearly that gas-fired systems are the cheapest to install. For those countries which have good supplies of gas, this offers an excellent option since, among the fossil fuels, gas has the least environmental impact. However, not many countries are so blessed and facilities to import large quantities of gas are very expensive. To date, only Japan has pursued the importation option seriously. The wide availability of coal will likely drive most Developing Countries to exploit it as their only serious option. Indeed we see just this happening in China and India, two of the most rapidly developing of these countries. When assessing environmental impacts, the cost of a unit of energy is a more usefill metric than initial capital cost because such impacts continue as long as energy is being produced. This unit cost basis will be employed for the balance of the paper. Typical costs on this basis are shown in figure 9.
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