FTI Research
- APEX
- ARIES
- Code Development
- D-3He Fuel Cycle
- Environmental Impact
- FIRE
- FRC
- HAPL
- IEC
- ITER
- Liquid Metal Safety
- Lunar Mining
- Medical Isotopes
- RadHydro
- Shock Tube
- Space Propulsion
- X1 Chamber
MFE & IFE Studies UW Neutronics Center of Excellence Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Shock Tube
Net Energy of Environmental Impact Analysis
The amount of electrical energy produced over the lifetime of coal, LWR fission, DT-fusion, and wind power plants is compared to the total amount of energy required to procure the fuel, build, operate, and decommission the power plants. The energy payback ratio (i.e., the total amount of useful energy derived from a power plant divided by the total amount of energy invested in the power plant) can be as high as 27 for DT-fusion plants, vs. a low of 11 for coal plants.
FTI Publications
UWFDM-1063 ``Birth to Death'' Analysis of the Energy Payback Ratio and CO2 Gas Emission Rates from Coal, Fission, Wind, and DT Fusion Electrical Power Plants; Scott W. White and Gerald L. Kulcinski, March 1998 (revised February 1999) [presented at the 6th IAEA Meeting on Fusion Power Plant Design and Technology, Culham, England, March 23-27, 1998]. (20 pages, 218 kB)
UWFDM-1264 U.S. Electric Industry Response to Carbon Constraint: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Supply-Side Alternatives; P.J. Meier, P.P.H. Wilson, G.L. Kulcinski, P.L. Denholm, September 2004 [to be published in Energy Policy, 2004].
UWFDM-1143 The Potential for Fusion Power to Mitigate U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions; P.J. Meier and G.L. Kulcinski, October 2000 [presented at the 14th Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, October 15-19, 2000, Park City UT]. (8 pages, 113 kB)
Perspectives on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Payback Ratios for Fusion Power;
Paul Meier and G.L. Kulcinski,
March 2000 [Presented at the International Energy Agency Task Meeting on Socio-Economic Aspects of Fusion Power, San Diego, 17 March 2000]. (26 pages, 267 kB)
Overview of Transmission and Distribution of Electricity in the U.S.;
P.L. Denholm and G.L. Kulcinski,
October 8, 2003 [FTI Tuesday meeting]. (19 pages, 607 kB)
UWFDM-1092 Net Energy Payback and CO2 Emissions from Wind-Generated Electricity in the Midwest; S.W. White and G.L. Kulcinski, December 1998. (78 pages, 745 kB)
UWFDM-1093 Net Energy Payback and CO2 Emissions from Helium-3 Fusion and Wind Electrical Power Plants; Scott W. White, December 1998 [Ph.D. thesis]. (182 pages, 7.9 MB)
UWFDM-1261 Net Energy Balance and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Renewable Energy Storage Systems; P.L. Denholm and G.L. Kulcinski, June 2003 [also Energy Center of Wisconsin Research Report 223-1, 2003]. (55 pages, 937 kB)
UWFDM-1262 Life-Cycle Energy Requirements and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Large-Scale Energy Storage Systems; P.L. Denholm and G.L. Kulcinski, September 2004 [published in Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 45, Issues 13-14, p. 2153-2172, 2004].
UWFDM-1185 Life-Cycle Energy Requirements and Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Building-Integrated Photovoltaics; P.J. Meier and G.L. Kulcinski, April 2002. (39 pages, 1.1 MB)
UWFDM-1184 Life-Cycle Energy Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Gas Turbine Power; P.J. Meier and G.L. Kulcinski, December 2000. (46 pages, 832 kB)
UWFDM-1181 Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Systems and Applications for Climate Change Policy Analysis; Paul J. Meier, August 2002 [Ph.D. thesis]. (161 pages, 1.8 MB)
Life Cycle Energy Cost of Wind and Gas-Turbine Power;
S.W. White, W.H. Radcliffe, G.L. Kulcinski,
February 1999 [Second Annual Energy Research Highlights Forum, 9 February 1999, Madison WI]. (16 pages, 410 kB)
UWFDM-1410 Environmental and Policy Analysis of Renewable Energy Enabling Technologies; Paul L. Denholm, December 2004 [Ph.D. thesis]. (277 pages, 1.8 MB)
UWFDM-1044 Environmental and Energy Analysis of the Refeed Option of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride; Scott W. White, February 1997. (62 pages, 2.7 MB)
Energy and Environmental Aspects of Renewable-Enabling Technologies;
Paul Denholm and Gerald Kulcinski,
April 1, 2003 [FTI Tuesday meeting]. (31 pages, 1.3 MB)
UWFDM-1091 Energy Payback Ratios and Lifetime CO2 Emission Levels for DT and D3He Fusion Power Plants; Scott W. White and Gerald L. Kulcinski, January 1999 [Presented at the International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems (ICENES-98), June 29-July 3, 1998, Tel Aviv, Israel]. (13 pages, 276 kB)
UWFDM-1085 Energy Payback Ratios and CO2 Emissions Associated with the UWMAK-I and ARIES-RS DT-Fusion Power Plants; S.W. White and G.L. Kulcinski, June 1998 [Presented at the 13th Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, June 7-11, 1998, Nashville TN]. (7 pages, 282 kB)
Energy Payback Ratio and CO2 Emission Associated with Electricity Generation from a Natural Gas Power Plant - Preliminary Findings;
P.J. Meier and G.L. Kulcinski,
February 2000 [Presented at the Third Annual Energy Research Highlights Forum, Madison WI, 3 February 2000]. (15 pages, 271 kB)
UWFDM-993 Energy Balance and Lifetime Emissions from Fusion, Fission and Coal Generated Electricity; Scott W. White, October 1995 [M.S. thesis]. (96 pages, 4.4 MB)
UWFDM-1263 Emissions and Energy Efficiency Assessment of Base Loaded Wind Energy Systems; P.L. Denholm, G.L. Kulcinski, T. Holloway, September 2004 [accepted for publication in Environmental Science and Technology, 2004].
UWFDM-1003 A Current Bibliography of Helium-3 Research; S.W. White, January 1996. (143 pages, 8.0 MB)