Worldwide information indicates that although there are sufficient petroleum resources to meet demand for about 50 years, production is peaking and we will face a steadily diminishing petroleum supply. This situation justifies re-evaluating OTEC for the production of electricity, desalinated water and energy intensive products. It is postulated that the US should begin to implement the first ge...

This paper analyzes the cost efficiency and optimal scale of the electricity distribution industry in Taiwan. Due to the substantial difference in network density, firms may differ widely in production technology. We employ the stochastic metafrontier approach to estimate the cost efficiency of 24 distribution units during the period of 1997 and 2002. Empirical results find that the average cos...

To quantify the potential value of technological advances to the photovoltaics (PV) sector, this paper examines the impact of changes to key PV module and system parameters on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The parameters selected include module manufacturing cost, efficiency, degradation rate, and service lifetime. NREL’s System Advisor Model (SAM) is used to calculate the lifecycle cost...

Extensive studies of fusion economics have been performed in the last decade within the European Union and the United States. Over the same period major advances have been made in the physics and technology of fusion. This paper summarizes the prospects for fusion making an economically attractive contribution to the future energy mix. With modest physics optimization and anticipated near-term ...

BACKGROUND Much research in the field of energy harvesting has sought to develop devices capable of generating electricity during daily activities with minimum user effort. No previous study has considered the metabolic cost of carrying the harvester when determining the energetic effects it has on the user. When considering device carrying costs, no energy harvester to date has demonstrated th...

The underlying question of this research work is whether small, distributed storage devices on the electricity grid can help to lower the average electricity cost and foster the integration of renewable energy sources. This article addresses the question whether it is economically beneficial to install such storage capacity. The article presents two models that estimate the economic benefits fr...