The Future of Nuclear Power in A Restructured Electricity Market

Restructuring is causing fundamental changes in the market for electricity across North America including changes in the framework for decisions about investment in generation capacity. In a restructured market the generator is no longer guaranteed a reasonable rate of return on assets; instead new investments will earn whatever the spot market or contract market will pay. The market price will be determined by the marginal cost of existing price setting units, the market structure, demand, and the cost of new capacity. Environmental regulations may have a significant impact on that price. This paper summarizes the principal features of restructured electricity markets and their implications for the future price of electricity and for the future of nuclear power, using the emerging rules for the Ontario electricity market as an example.electric utilities, electricity restructuring, nuclear power, nuclear generation, air pollution, emission trading, Ontario, spot market

Emissions Trading: ERCs or Allowances

There are two principal choices of the baseline from which emissions trading may take place: 1) emission reduction credits (ERCs) in which the baseline is existing regulations which are often activity-based; and 2) cap-and-trade which specified the total allowable emissions. This paper examines the effects of these two tradable permit systems on marginal and average costs for the firm, using electricity generation as an example. The ERC system subsidises the activity level to which it is tied, failing to incorporate the full cost of external harm into the product price. The cap-and-trade system is more efficient.air pollution, emissions trading, allowances, emission reduction credits, cap and trade, electricity generation, externality

Operation of the University of Hawaii 2.2M telescope on Mauna Kea

NASA's planetary astronomy program provides part of the funding for the 2.2 meter telescope. The parameters for time on the telescope are laid out. A major instrumental highlight has been the commissioning of a 256 x 256 near infrared camera which uses a Rockwell NICMOS-3 array. At the f/10 focus, image scales of 0.37 and 0.75 arcsec/pixel are available. A new, high quantum efficiency Tektronix 1024 x 1024 CCD saw first light on the telescope in 1991, and was available regularly from April 1991. Data from both of these detectors are transmitted directly to the Sun workstation for immediate analysis by the observers. The autoguider software was enhanced to permit guided tracking on objects have nonsideral motions (i.e., solar system objects)

Differences in Emergence Date and Size Between the Sexes of \u3ci\u3eMalacosoma Americanum\u3c/i\u3e the Eastern Tent Caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Malacosoma americanum males were smaller and began to pupate earlier than females. Since the sexes spent the same amount of time as pupae, males also emerged earlier. The adaptive significance of these results is discussed. Emergence data revealed an interesting sidelight; no moths emerged from cocoons inside tents

The Impact of Sub-Metering on Condominium Electricity Demand

Growing concern about the environmental effects of electricity generation is renewing demands for electricity conservation and efficient usage. With a substantial fraction of the population insulated from energy price signals in bulk-metered apartment and condominium buildings, some jurisdictions are considering mandatory metering of individual suites. This study analyses data from a Toronto condominium building to assess the impacts of suite (or sub-) metering. We estimate the aggregate reduction in electricity usage arising from sub-metering to be about 20%. Financial savings to residents are much smaller. We analyze large variations across units in electricity consumption after sub-metering finding that unit characteristics explain much but not all of this variation. We perform both private and public cost-benefit analyses of sub-metering and find that the social net benefits depend strongly on the value assigned to externalities from generation and that net social benefits may often be positive when private benefits to the residents are negative.electricity demand, electricity sub-metering, energy conservation