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Charactaristics:

• percentage of the world's supply of electricity
• cost per kW
• pollution
• maintenance cost
• construction time
• infrastructure cost
• depreciation % per year
• Energy production range
• Production capacity
• Energy stability

Externalities - include negative and positive externalities. Wind farms, hydroelectricity, and solar panels all have positive externalities of their contribution to overall world wide technological development. For example, wind farms, hydro dams, and solar panels drive down the cost of technologies such as generators, electric motors, and solar panels that people can use at home themselves. Those benefits are not directly stated in the costs and profits of a power plant, but those benefits are real because only by their use positive technologies are being promoted for future benefits. Contribution to dependence on oil and accumulation of radioactive material are negative externalities. Other examples include: contribution to political instability, economical instability, and war. Negative externalities are generally not recorded in the construction and maintenance costs of a plant, but they are real. Other externalities of wind farms include aerospace and fiberglass technologies. Airplane manufacturers could benefit from those technologies if they use some of the same lightweight materials and aerodynamics research.

Hydroelectric power plants - 20% or the world's supply of electricity, cheapest source of power

Nuclear power plants

Oil-fueled power plants

Solar power plants

Solar Chimney

Wave power plants - Recently becoming more popular with new technologies

Wind farms - Becoming more popular with mass production and scale, becoming more competitive with hydro

Sustainability and Development of Energy   Edit Conversion | Development and Use | Sustainable Energy | Conservation | Transportation