FULL FUEL-CYCLE EMISSION ANALYSIS FOR ELECTRIC-POWER GENERATION OPTIONS AND ITS APPLICATION IN A MARKET-BASED ECONOMY

The view of full fuel cycle methodologies as a tool for government aut horities to internalize the cost of environmental externalities relate d to power generation may be somewhat out of step with: the global mov e to more competitive, market-based economies; management of air emiss ions by broad-based cross-sectoral actions (such as voluntary programs ) that harness market forces; and restructuring of electricity industr ies going on around the world. This paper briefly describes a full fue l cycle study and how it was used in a jurisdiction that strongly supp orts economic development through free, and open market mechanisms and is supportive of market-based and stakeholder consultative principles in developing government environmental policy. Other useful applicati ons of the full fuel cycle methodology are described, which do not inv olve externality adders. The province of Alberta, Canada is used as a microcosm for this kind of application. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.