Alternative central-station electric power generation technologies: a consistent engineering-economic framework of comparison

The electric utility sector is an intermediate processing sector of the economy that utilizes the factor inputs of labor, capital, and materials to process and convert chemical, nuclear, and other basic energy forms into electricity. The electricity is then delivered to and consumed by other intermediate or final users for purposes of heating, cooling, lighting, motive power, and materials processing. The economics of electricity supply encompass not only the selection of the basic energy form to be converted but also the selection of possible physical conversion processes to accomplish the conversion. The conversion processes can vary immensely in technical detail, physical configuration, and the basic scientific principle governing their operation. But whatever the design and technical detail, the basic purpose is to process some form of energy and manufacture electricity.