Cost Benefit AnalysisA power station is planned in your local area and you have been requested to submit a primary cost-benefit analysis of the potential economic and environmental impact that the station could have. Prepare a list of pros and cons and a preliminary judgment on whether it should go ahead.
IntroductionCost benefit analysis is a method that is favored by many because it is a methodology that weighs relative impacts on various interests and the general utility and acceptability of a project. However, Cost Benefit analysis is one methodology that has been faced with a lot of criticism due to its weaknesses concerning how non-monetary values are assessed and also data availability and its reliability. For this assignment I am going to list the various pros and cons associated with a nuclear power station project. The costs associated with this planned project are the high costs of building the plant. These cost estimates should also take into account the investment costs, pre development costs, operating costs and finally the decomposition costs. On the other hand, developing nuclear energy is also associated with numerous benefits that range from environmental, employment benefits, security of supply and other benefits.
The Benefits
Cost Benefits: An important benefit to realize is the cost of maintaining the reactor. Nuclear power plants provide a means to reduce the cost of maintenance that can be achieved by an efficient method such as a containment. Unlike nuclear power plants or nuclear power plants that are able to withstand extreme heat during the day (like a nuclear reactor) an operating plant can be maintained or extended into a period of cooling that allows it to be operating at lower costs and lower operating power and operating temperature while the radioactive contamination is decreasing. This also allows for greater security and reliability as well as a wider ability to maintain operations for a short time. This also prevents radiation released by non-radiated plants from increasing the risk of cancer and other illnesses that result from the activity of a radioactive material in the soil, water and air, which is harmful to humans and the environment.
An important benefit is the cost of managing the electricity grid. A more cost effective method of managing electricity transmission, distribution, storage and other energy transmission infrastructure, such as the grid based on nuclear power, is a cost reduction method that can also support additional infrastructure and power generation costs. The utility utility (UM) is a utility or other organization that is responsible for maintaining all electrical power plants. The cost of upkeep has long been recognized as the biggest cost associated with maintaining electricity lines under present conditions. In its cost reduction methodology, a unit can be expected to have between 4 and 6 percent of the total costs to maintain electrical power. This translates into operating and production costs over time. The cost reduction methodology has become more cost based and may be a further way to maintain the electricity grid or an energy storage program.
Benefits of Nuclear Power Plant
The advantages of nuclear power plant include high clean power generation costs, low energy conversion costs, reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and an increased financial investment in renewable energy technology (through cost savings on the electricity generated from the operation and maintenance of the power plant itself).
High Cost of Electricity
Energy cost of a nuclear power plant varies across states and the region. This includes many energy generating states such as California or Minnesota where electricity costs vary wildly. An example of a states where the cost of electricity may vary are the United States where the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) estimates the cost of electricity in 2012 at 5.9 cents per kilowatt dollar. In comparison, in New York and Massachusetts with the cost of electricity to be distributed over 20 years, the NIEHS estimates the costs of electricity at 1.1 cents per kWh. The resulting cost of electricity in New York is approximately 1.9 cents per kilowatt dollar (PUC). This has been shown to dramatically reduce the cost of electricity in most regions. This costs the state about 90 percent of the electricity generation costs. Nuclear power plants reduce power generation over their lifetimes, which reduces the life span of all generations on the grid. For example, each 100 megawatt nuclear power plant operating on a given energy source at a given power base generates approximately half of all electricity generation in a given power cycle. More solar uses on a power generation grid reduces the energy conversion expense which is higher, but may not be as high, at the end of a power cycle due to the reduced energy conversion costs and the fact that power generation is energy intensive across the spectrum.
High Renewable Electricity Generation Costs
The cost of generating power with renewable energy is less because there is less maintenance and the energy is produced in clean and safe, accessible and secure ways because of its low amount of nuclear waste. In addition, an increase in renewable energy technologies allows the generation of electricity at less costs as less of the waste is reused elsewhere by grid and service providers.
Low Energy Conversion Costs And Energy Security In a nuclear plant, some of the most critical resources are
BenefitsThese benefits range from national to the global level.Environmental benefits- monetizing all the environmental impacts brought about by nuclear energy generation is practically difficult. The ability of generating power without releasing greenhouse gases is a clear go ahead for execution of the project and nuclear electricity is a project of a kind (Kennedy, 2007).
Security of supply- There is also very little impact on the cost of producing the electricity due to the low share of fuel cost to the productionEmployment Benefits- in the cases of large-scale project, this type of benefit is an important positive externality. Employment arises during the planning, operation, construction and also