Reply #8: Now it's worth it to look at total cost, external + generating.

[NNadir]

I am trying to put together some data on this subject. It will not do if a form of energy has an extremely low external cost but has such a high internal (i.e. charged) cost that no one can afford it.

Ideally, of course, the price paid by the consumer would reflect both costs, perhaps via a mechanism such as a carbon tax or pollution tax.

The official data for the EU is somewhat problematic to find right now, but this chart from the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland http://gabe.web.psi.ch/eia-external%20costs.html (valid only for Switzerland) gives one perspective on total cost. The calculation may be suspect in Switzerland with respect to both wind and solar because of Switzerland's local conditions. For example a wind turbine might amortize very slowly if the wind blows more infrequently in Switzerland than it does, say, in Denmark.

The actual cost of energy is in general a function of local conditions. For instance a coal fired plant near a coal mine has a very low internal cost, since it is not necessary to ship the coal extended distances.



The dual bars represent a range. I will update this as I acquire more information from OECD, IEA, or other reports.