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Appendix C
Comparison of Different Power-Generation Methods 253

Table C.1 Traditional Power Generation—Lowest Price Listed First
Method Cents/KWH Limitations and Externalities
Gas
Currently supplies around 3.9–4.4 cents/ Gas-fired plants are generally
15% of the global KWH quicker and less expensive to
electricity demand. build than coal or nuclear, but a
relatively high percentage of the
cost/KWH is derived from the
cost of the fuel. Due to the cur-
rent (and projected future)
upward trend in gas prices, there
is uncertainty around the cost /
KWH over the lifetime of plants.
Gas burns more cleanly than
coal, but the gas itself (largely
methane) is a potent greenhouse
gas. Some energy conversions to
calculate your cost of natural gas
per KWH: 100 cubic feet (CCF)
~ 1 Therm = 100,000 BTU ~
29.3 KWH. ptg
Coal
Currently supplies around 4.8–5.5 cents/ It is increasingly difficult to
38% of the global KWH build new coal plants in the
electricity demand. developed world, due to environ-
mental requirements governing
the plants. There is growing
concern about coal-fired plants in
the developing world (China, for
instance, imposes less environ-
mental overhead, and has large
supplies of high sulfur content
coal). The supply of coal is plen-
tiful, but the coal-generation
method is perceived to make a
larger contribution to air pollu-
tion than the rest of the methods
combined.