Improved cost-benefit techniques in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The major objective of this report is to help the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in its regulatory mission, particularly with respect to improving the use of cost-benefit analysis and the economic evaluation of resources within the NRC. The objectives of this effort are: (1) to identify current and future NRC requirements (e.g., licensing) for valuing nonmarket goods; (2) to identify, highlight, and present the relevant efforts of selected federal agencies, some with over two decades of experience in valuing nonmarket goods, in this area; and (3) to review methods for valuing nonmarket impacts and to provide estimats of their magnitudes. Recently proposed legislation may result in a requirement for not only more sophisticated valuation analyses, but more extensive applications of these techniques to issues of concern to the NRC. This paper is intended to provide the NRC with information to more efficiently meet such requirements

Retrospective analysis of energy use and conservation trends: 1972-1982. Appendix

This appendix contains the detailed documentation corresponding to the end-use sectoral analyses presented in the main report. The data and methods used to calculate alternative scenarios for estimating energy savings in four economic sectors are provided in this volume. Appendix A contains the detailed documentation for the residential sector analysis. The methodology used to prepare estimates of building energy savings in the commercial sector is provided in Appendix B. Finally, Appendices C and D discuss the data and explain the analytical techniques used to derive estimates of energy savings in the industrial and transportation sectors, respectively. 9 refs., 14 figs., 86 tabs

Retrospective analysis of energy use and conservation trends: 1972-1982

The primary objective of the research reported here is to analyze energy use trends for the entire economy and by end-use sector (residential, commercial, and industrial, and transportation). In particular, an examination of energy trends was undertaken for the period 1972 through 1982 to determine the magnitude of ''energy savings'' attributable to: (1) changes in economic activity; (2) efficiency improvements relative to the 1972 stock (including structures and capital equipment); and (3) efficiency improvements relative to 1960 to 1972 trends. In addition to identifying the measures of energy savings described above, the causes of efficiency improvement relative to 1972 are explored. For example, energy savings due to efficiency improvements in the residential sector are explained by such activities as changes in household size, migration, improved shell and appliance efficiencies, and increased wood use. For this research, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) developed a consistent methodology for analyzing energy use trends by end-use sector. Alternative measures of energy use trends (i.e., alternative base cases) were developed for the purpose of measuring energy savings. The energy use trends were calculated as the product of economic activity levels (number of households in the residential sector, square feet of floor space in the commercial sector, output in the industrial sector, and person-miles/ton-miles traveled in the transportation sector) and energy use intensities (energy use per household, energy use per square foot of commercial floor space, energy use per unit of industrial output, and energy use per mile traveled). Energy savings were then defined as differences between alternative estimates of energy use. Data and methods used to derive the alternative estimates are contained in a separate volume of this report (PNL-5026-App.)