Cost escalation in health - care technology possible solutions | Járos ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Solutions to cost escalation due to health-care technology are proposed. It is argued that proper systems analysis, technology assessment, and planning would result in net savings and itnproved cost-benefits. Identification of needs early in the technological life cycle can positively influence the final form of the chosen ...

Cost analysis guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strait, R.S.

1996-01-01

The first phase of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program (Program)--management strategy selection--consists of several program elements: Technology Assessment, Engineering Analysis, Cost Analysis, and preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Cost Analysis will estimate the life-cycle costs associated with each of the long-term management strategy alternatives for depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6). The scope of Cost Analysis will include all major expenditures, from the planning and design stages through decontamination and decommissioning. The costs will be estimated at a scoping or preconceptual design level and are intended to assist decision makers in comparing alternatives for further consideration. They will not be absolute costs or bid-document costs. The purpose of the Cost Analysis Guidelines is to establish a consistent approach to analyzing of cost alternatives for managing Department of Energy's (DOE's) stocks of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6). The component modules that make up the DUF6 management program differ substantially in operational maintenance, process-options, requirements for R and D, equipment, facilities, regulatory compliance, (O and M), and operations risk. To facilitate a consistent and equitable comparison of costs, the guidelines offer common definitions, assumptions or basis, and limitations integrated with a standard approach to the analysis. Further, the goal is to evaluate total net life-cycle costs and display them in a way that gives DOE the capability to evaluate a variety of overall DUF6 management strategies, including commercial potential. The cost estimates reflect the preconceptual level of the designs. They will be appropriate for distinguishing among management strategies

Estimating costs in the economic evaluation of medical technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Luce, B R; Elixhauser, A

1990-01-01

The complexities and nuances of evaluating the costs associated with providing medical technologies are often underestimated by analysts engaged in economic evaluations. This article describes the theoretical underpinnings of cost estimation, emphasizing the importance of accounting for opportunity costs and marginal costs. The various types of costs that should be considered in an analysis are described; a listing of specific cost elements may provide a helpful guide to analysis. The process of identifying and estimating costs is detailed, and practical recommendations for handling the challenges of cost estimation are provided. The roles of sensitivity analysis and discounting are characterized, as are determinants of the types of costs to include in an analysis. Finally, common problems facing the analyst are enumerated with suggestions for managing these problems.

Analysis of the cost impact of the new technologies in e-tail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina DRUMEA

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The impact of new technologies on retail is studied in terms of costs. Starting from the idea that reducing costs should have a significant effect of the new technologies in retail, it is investigated the possibility that it actually constitutes the basis of a new facette of the cost leadership generic strategy. Exploratory research tracks some automation effects on transaction costs and labour costs in retail. General business models in the field are analysed, with a focus on some concrete ways of implementation in retail, particularly as e-tail. In the background we grasp and discuss the aspects of the financial flows related to trade. Even when those issues may prevail, one cannot elude discussing the cultural and ethical standards associated to the trade new features induced by e-tail and the new technologies.

A Cost Estimation Analysis of U.S. Navy Ship Fuel-Savings Techniques and Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-01

Horngren , C. T., Datar, S . M., & Foster, G. (2006). Cost Accounting : A Managerial Emphasis. 12th ed. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson...COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A Cost Estimation Analysis of U.S. Navy Ship Fuel-Savings Techniques and Technologies 6. AUTHOR( S ...FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 N P V   C u m   S a v i n g s   ( $ / y r / S D   s h i p s ) Time

Supporting frail older people and their family carers at home using information and communication technology: cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnusson, Lennart; Hanson, Elizabeth

2005-09-01

This paper describes a cost analysis of a home-based support service for frail older people and their family carers in two municipalities in West Sweden and using information and communication technology. A key challenge facing nurse managers across Europe is an increasingly aged population, combined with reduced numbers of young adults of working age. New solutions are needed to provide quality, cost-effective community care services to frail older people and their family carers. A case study methodology involving five families was used, and included a detailed cost description of the technology-based service compared with usual services. Cost data were collected in June 2002. This work formed part of a larger project exploring the impact of a technology-based service known as, Assisting Carers using Telematics Interventions to meet Older Persons' Needs (ACTION). In addition to cost data, information was gathered on the quality of life of frail older people and their family carers, and the job satisfaction and work methods of nurses and other practitioners based in the community. The cost analysis comprised a description of the family and their caring situation, the perceived benefits of the telematic based support service and an assessment of its impact on the use of other care services. These analyses were carried out with the help of needs assessors who were known to the families, and nurses working in the ACTION call centre. All results were validated by the five participating families. Cost savings were achieved in all cases, and the benefits to older people and their carers were also considerable. As a result of the cost analysis and overall evaluation data, ACTION has been implemented as a mainstream service in the municipalities involved. Researchers, nurses, other practitioners and community care managers can work together with frail older people and their family carers to develop quality, cost-effective support services that reduce demands on staff

Healthcare costs for new technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goyen, Mathias; Debatin, Joerg F.

2009-01-01

Continuous ageing of the population coupled with growing health consciousness and continuous technological advances have fueled the rapid rise in healthcare costs in the United States and Europe for the past several decades. The exact impact of new medical technology on long-term spending growth remains the subject of controversy. By all measures it is apparent that new medical technology is the dominant driver of increases in health-care costs and hence insurance premiums. This paper addresses the impact of medical technology on healthcare delivery systems with regard to medical practice and costs. We first explore factors affecting the growth of medical technology and then attempt to provide a means for assessing the effectiveness of medical technology. Avoidable healthcare cost drivers are identified and related policy issues are discussed. (orig.)

Healthcare costs for new technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goyen, Mathias; Debatin, Joerg F. [University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (Germany)

2009-03-15

Continuous ageing of the population coupled with growing health consciousness and continuous technological advances have fueled the rapid rise in healthcare costs in the United States and Europe for the past several decades. The exact impact of new medical technology on long-term spending growth remains the subject of controversy. By all measures it is apparent that new medical technology is the dominant driver of increases in health-care costs and hence insurance premiums. This paper addresses the impact of medical technology on healthcare delivery systems with regard to medical practice and costs. We first explore factors affecting the growth of medical technology and then attempt to provide a means for assessing the effectiveness of medical technology. Avoidable healthcare cost drivers are identified and related policy issues are discussed. (orig.)

Cost effectiveness studies of environmental technologies: Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, E.M.; Booth, S.R.

1994-02-01

This paper examines cost effectiveness studies of environmental technologies including the following: (1) In Situ Air Stripping, (2) Surface Towed Ordinance Locator System, (3) Ditch Witch Horizontal Boring Technology, (4) Direct Sampling Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer, (5) In Situ Vitrification, (6) Site Characterization and Analysis Penetrometer System, (7) In Situ Bioremediation, and (8) SEAMIST Membrane System Technology

Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Advanced Near Net Shape Technology (ANNST) Method for Fabricating Stiffened Cylinders

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanco, Marie L.; Domack, Marcia S.; Stoner, Mary Cecilia; Hehir, Austin R.

2016-01-01

Low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and high levels of uncertainty make it challenging to develop cost estimates of new technologies in the R&D phase. It is however essential for NASA to understand the costs and benefits associated with novel concepts, in order to prioritize research investments and evaluate the potential for technology transfer and commercialization. This paper proposes a framework to perform a cost-benefit analysis of a technology in the R&D phase. This framework was developed and used to assess the Advanced Near Net Shape Technology (ANNST) manufacturing process for fabricating integrally stiffened cylinders. The ANNST method was compared with the conventional multi-piece metallic construction and composite processes for fabricating integrally stiffened cylinders. Following the definition of a case study for a cryogenic tank cylinder of specified geometry, data was gathered through interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), with particular focus placed on production costs and process complexity. This data served as the basis to produce process flowcharts and timelines, mass estimates, and rough order-of-magnitude cost and schedule estimates. The scalability of the results was subsequently investigated to understand the variability of the results based on tank size. Lastly, once costs and benefits were identified, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to assess the relative value of these achieved benefits for potential stakeholders. These preliminary, rough order-of-magnitude results predict a 46 to 58 percent reduction in production costs and a 7-percent reduction in weight over the conventional metallic manufacturing technique used in this study for comparison. Compared to the composite manufacturing technique, these results predict cost savings of 35 to 58 percent; however, the ANNST concept was heavier. In this study, the predicted return on investment of equipment required for the ANNST method was ten cryogenic tank barrels

Cost analysis and estimating tools and techniques

CERN Document Server

Nussbaum, Daniel

1990-01-01

Changes in production processes reflect the technological advances permeat­ ing our products and services. U. S. industry is modernizing and automating. In parallel, direct labor is fading as the primary cost driver while engineering and technology related cost elements loom ever larger. Traditional, labor-based ap­ proaches to estimating costs are losing their relevance. Old methods require aug­ mentation with new estimating tools and techniques that capture the emerging environment. This volume represents one of many responses to this challenge by the cost analysis profession. The Institute of Cost Analysis (lCA) is dedicated to improving the effective­ ness of cost and price analysis and enhancing the professional competence of its members. We encourage and promote exchange of research findings and appli­ cations between the academic community and cost professionals in industry and government. The 1990 National Meeting in Los Angeles, jointly spo~sored by ICA and the National Estimating Society (NES),...

Technology Estimating 2: A Process to Determine the Cost and Schedule of Space Technology Research and Development

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Stuart K.; Wallace, Jon; Schaffer, Mark; May, M. Scott; Greenberg, Marc W.

2014-01-01

As a leader in space technology research and development, NASA is continuing in the development of the Technology Estimating process, initiated in 2012, for estimating the cost and schedule of low maturity technology research and development, where the Technology Readiness Level is less than TRL 6. NASA' s Technology Roadmap areas consist of 14 technology areas. The focus of this continuing Technology Estimating effort included four Technology Areas (TA): TA3 Space Power and Energy Storage, TA4 Robotics, TA8 Instruments, and TA12 Materials, to confine the research to the most abundant data pool. This research report continues the development of technology estimating efforts completed during 2013-2014, and addresses the refinement of parameters selected and recommended for use in the estimating process, where the parameters developed are applicable to Cost Estimating Relationships (CERs) used in the parametric cost estimating analysis. This research addresses the architecture for administration of the Technology Cost and Scheduling Estimating tool, the parameters suggested for computer software adjunct to any technology area, and the identification of gaps in the Technology Estimating process.

Cost comparison of laboratory methods and four field screening technologies for uranium-contaminated soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douthat, D.M.; Armstrong, A.Q.

1994-01-01

To address the problem of characterizing uranium-contaminated surface soil at federal facilities, the Department of Energy has the development of four uranium field screening technologies, under the direction of the Uranium-in-Soils Integrated Demonstration (USID) Program. These four technologies include: a long-range alpha detector a beta scintillation detector, an in situ gamma detector, and a mobile laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICP/AES) laboratory. As part of the performance assessment for these field screening technologies, cost estimates for the development and operation of each technology were created. A cost study was conducted to compare three of the USID field screening technologies to the use of traditional field surveying equipment to adequately characterize surface soils of a one-acre site. The results indicate that the use of traditional equipment costs more than the in situ gamma detector, but less than the beta scintillation detector and LRAD. The use of traditional field surveying equipment results in cost savings of 4% and 34% over the use of the beta scintillation and LRAD technologies, respectively. A study of single-point surface soil sampling and laboratory analysis costs was also conducted. Operational costs of the mobile LA-ICP/AES laboratory were compared with operational costs of traditional sampling and analysis, which consists of collecting soil samples and conducting analysis in a radiochemical laboratory. The cost study indicates that the use of the mobile LA-ICP/AES laboratory results in cost savings of 23% and 40% over traditional field sampling and laboratory analysis conducted by characterization groups at two DOE facilities

The impact of feedstock cost on technology selection and optimum size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, Jay B.; Kumar, Amit; Flynn, Peter C.

2007-01-01

Development of biomass projects at optimum size and technology enhances the role that biomass can make in mitigating greenhouse gas. Optimum sized plants can be built when biomass resources are sufficient to meet feedstock demand; examples include wood and forest harvest residues from extensive forests, and grain straw and corn stover from large agricultural regions. The impact of feedstock cost on technology selection is evaluated by comparing the cost of power from the gasification and direct combustion of boreal forest wood chips. Optimum size is a function of plant cost and the distance variable cost (DVC, $ dry tonne -1 km -1 ) of the biomass fuel; distance fixed costs (DFC, $ dry tonne -1 ) such as acquisition, harvesting, loading and unloading do not impact optimum size. At low values of DVC and DFC, as occur with wood chips sourced from the boreal forest, direct combustion has a lower power cost than gasification. At higher values of DVC and DFC, gasification has a lower power cost than direct combustion. This crossover in most economic technology will always arise when a more efficient technology with a higher capital cost per unit of output is compared to a less efficient technology with a lower capital cost per unit of output. In such cases technology selection cannot be separated from an analysis of feedstock cost

Technology strategy for cost-effective drilling and intervention; Technology Target Areas; TTA4 - Cost effective drilling and intervention

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2007-07-01

The main goals of the OG21 initiative are to (1) develop new technology and knowledge to increase the value creation of Norwegian oil and gas resources and (2) enhance the export of Norwegian oil and gas technology. The OG21 Cost-effective Drilling and Intervention (CEDI) Technology Target Area (TTA) has identified some key strategic drilling and well intervention needs to help meet the goals of OG21. These key strategic drilling and well intervention needs are based on a review of present and anticipated future offshore-Norway drilling and well intervention conditions and the Norwegian drilling and well intervention industry. A gap analysis has been performed to assess the extent to which current drilling and well intervention research and development and other activities will meet the key strategic needs. Based on the identified strategic drilling and well intervention needs and the current industry res each and development and other activities, the most important technology areas for meeting the OG21 goals are: environment-friendly and low-cost exploration wells; low-cost methods for well intervention/sidetracks; faster and extended-reach drilling; deep water drilling, completion and intervention; offshore automated drilling; subsea and sub-ice drilling; drilling through basalt and tight carbonates; drilling and completion in salt formation. More specific goals for each area: reduce cost of exploration wells by 50%; reduce cost for well intervention/sidetracks by 50%; increase drilling efficiency by 40%; reduce drilling cost in deep water by 40 %; enable offshore automated drilling before 2012; enable automated drilling from seabed in 2020. Particular focus should be placed on developing new technology for low-cost exploration wells to stem the downward trends in the number of exploration wells drilled and the volume of discovered resources. The CEDI TTA has the following additional recommendations: The perceived gaps in addressing the key strategic drilling and

Electrification Futures Study: End-Use Electric Technology Cost and Performance Projections through 2050

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vimmerstedt, Laura J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jadun, Paige [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); McMillan, Colin A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Steinberg, Daniel C. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Muratori, Matteo [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mai, Trieu T. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-01-02

This report provides projected cost and performance assumptions for electric technologies considered in the Electrification Futures Study, a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the effects of widespread electrification of end-use service demands in all major economic sectors - transportation, residential and commercial buildings, and industry - for the contiguous United States through 2050. Using extensive literature searches and expert assessment, the authors identify slow, moderate, and rapid technology advancement sensitivities on technology cost and performance, and they offer a comparative analysis of levelized cost metrics as a reference indicator of total costs. The identification and characterization of these end-use service demand technologies is fundamental to the Electrification Futures Study. This report, the larger Electrification Futures Study, and the associated data and methodologies may be useful to planners and analysts in evaluating the potential role of electrification in an uncertain future. The report could be broadly applicable for other analysts and researchers who wish to assess electrification and electric technologies.

Using Technology to Control Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Simon; Schoenberg, Doug; Richards, Dan; Morath, Michael

2009-01-01

In this article, the authors examines the use of technology to control costs in the child care industry. One of these technology solutions is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). SaaS solutions can help child care providers save money in many aspects of center management. In addition to cost savings, SaaS solutions are also particularly appealing to…

Social costs of innovative electricity generation technologies in the present and in 2030

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Preiss, Philipp; Friedrich, Rainer; Blesl, Markus; Wissel, Steffen; Mayer-Spohn, Oliver; Klotz, Volker [Stuttgart Univ. (DE). Inst. fuer Energiewirtschaft und Rationelle Energieanwendung (IER)

2008-07-01

Social costs (costs seen from the perspective of the society) differ from private costs and thus influence the ranking of electricity generating technologies. The resulting social costs data provide a basis for the recommendation to use the potential of nuclear, wind and hydropower as far as possible, however the potential of these technologies is limited. The analysis shows, that the remaining electricity demand in the future still should be met by using lignite and coal. Depending on the stringency of the climate change aims these plants would be equipped with CCS (carbon capture and storage) or not. Only with ambitious climate change aims and if CCS turns out to be less economically or technically feasible, than the import of electricity generated by a solar through systems in Mediterranean countries would become an option. The environmental advantages of PV are too small to compensate the very high investment costs in Germany. The detailed analysis of different contributions to the social costs per kWh shows that the costs of natural gas technologies are dominated by private costs of fuel supply. If we assume 50% higher prices than in the basic assumption this increases social costs up to 30%. (orig.)

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF A DG INTEGRATED SYSTEM: CASE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ch. V. S. S. SAILAJA

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Distributed Generation is capable of meeting the load of the consumers partially or completely. Depending on the type of DG involved it can be operated in interconnected mode and islanded mode. The availability of numerous alternatives present for the DG technologies and large initial investments necessitates a detailed cost benefit analysis for the implementation of DG technologies. In this work an attempt has been made to study the costs involved in implementing the DG technologies. A practical system having two kinds of distributed generation i.e., Diesel Generator and solar photovoltaic system for its back up purpose is considered. A detailed cost analysis of the two DG technologies is carried out.

Cost effectiveness analysis of the SEAMIST trademark membrane system technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriksen, A.D.; Booth, S.R.

1993-01-01

This report describes the cost and performance characteristics of SEAMIST trademark, an innovative technology that facilitates measurements of contaminants in both vertical and horizontal vadose zone boreholes. This new technology consists of an airtight membrane linear that is pneumatically emplaced inside the borehole structure. Sampling ports with attached tubing, absorbent collectors, or various in situ measuring devices can be fabricated into the linear and used for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), pesticides, herbicides, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, or radioactive substances. In addition, small instruments can be guided through the lined borehole and measurements taken inside at specified intervals

48 CFR 970.3102-05-30-70 - Patent costs and technology transfer costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... technology transfer costs. 970.3102-05-30-70 Section 970.3102-05-30-70 Federal Acquisition Regulations System... Principles and Procedures 970.3102-05-30-70 Patent costs and technology transfer costs. (a) For management and operating contracts that do not include the clause at 970.5227-3, Technology Transfer Mission, the...

Cost Estimation and Comparison of Carbon Capture and Storage Technology with Wind Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ABDULLAH MENGAL

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage is one of the significant solutions to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuelled electricity generation plants and minimize the effect of global warming. Economic analysis of CCS technology is, therefore, essential for the feasibility appraisal towards CO2 reduction. In this paper LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity Generation has been estimated with and without CCS technology for fossil fuel based power plants of Pakistan and also further compared with computed LCOE of WE (Wind Energy based power plants of the Pakistan. The results of this study suggest that the electricity generation costs of the fossil fuel power plants increase more than 44% with CCS technology as compared to without CCS technology. The generation costs are also found to be 10% further on higher side when considering efficiency penalty owing to installation of CCS technology. In addition, the CO2 avoided costs from natural gas plant are found to be 40 and 10% higher than the local coal and imported coal plants respectively. As such, the electricity generation cost of 5.09 Rs/kWh from WE plants is found to be competitive even when fossil fuel based plants are without CCS technology, with lowest cost of 5.9 Rs./kWh of CCNG (Combined Cycle Natural Gas plant. Based on analysis of results of this study and anticipated future development of efficient and cheap WE technologies, it is concluded that WE based electricity generation would be most appropriate option for CO2 reduction for Pakistan.

[Cost of assisted reproduction technology in a public hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro Espigares, José Luis; Martínez Navarro, Luis; Castilla Alcalá, José Antonio; Hernández Torres, Elisa

2006-01-01

Most studies on the costs of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) identify the total cost of the procedure with the direct cost, without considering important items such as overhead or intermediate costs. The objective of this study was to determine the cost per ART procedure in a public hospital in 2003 and to compare the results with those in the same hospital in 1998. Data from the Human Reproduction Unit of the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada (Spain) from 1998 and 2003 were analyzed. Since the total costs of the unit were known, the cost of the distinct ART procedures performed in the hospital was calculated by means of a methodology for cost distribution. Between 1998 and 2003, the activity and costs of the Human Reproduction Unit analyzed evolved differently. Analysis of activity showed that some techniques, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, were consolidated while others, such as stimulation without assisted reproduction or intracervical insemination were abandoned. In all procedures, unit costs per cycle and per delivery decreased in the period analyzed. Important changes took place in the structure of costs of ART in the Human Reproduction Unit of the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital between 1998 and 2003. Some techniques were discontinued, while others gained importance. Technological advances and structural innovations, together with a "learning effect," modified the structure of ART-related costs.

Competition between biofuels. Modeling technological learning and cost reductions over time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Wit, M.; Junginger, M.; Faaij, A.; Lensink, S.M.; Londo, H.M.

2009-10-01

A key aspect in modeling the (future) competition between biofuels is the way in which production cost developments are computed. The objective of this study was threefold: (1) to construct a (endogenous) relation between cost development and cumulative production (2) to implement technological learning based on both engineering study insights and an experience curve approach, and (3) to investigate the impact of different technological learning assumptions on the market diffusion patterns of different biofuels. The analysis was executed with the European biofuel model BioTrans, which computes the least cost biofuel route. The model meets an increasing demand, reaching a 25% share of biofuels of the overall European transport fuel demand by 2030. Results show that 1st generation biodiesel is the most cost competitive fuel, dominating the early market. With increasing demand, modestly productive oilseed crops become more expensive rapidly, providing opportunities for advanced biofuels to enter the market. While biodiesel supply typically remains steady until 2030, almost all additional yearly demands are delivered by advanced biofuels, supplying up to 60% of the market by 2030. Sensitivity analysis shows that (a) overall increasing investment costs favour biodiesel production, (b) separate gasoline and diesel subtargets may diversify feedstock production and technology implementation, thus limiting the risk of failure and preventing lock-in and (c) the moment of an advanced technology's commercial market introduction determines, to a large degree, its future chances for increasing market share.

Cost development of future technologies for power generation-A study based on experience curves and complementary bottom-up assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neij, Lena

2008-01-01

Technology foresight studies have become an important tool in identifying realistic ways of reducing the impact of modern energy systems on the climate and the environment. Studies on the future cost development of advanced energy technologies are of special interest. One approach widely adopted for the analysis of future cost is the experience curve approach. The question is, however, how robust this approach is, and which experience curves should be used in energy foresight analysis. This paper presents an analytical framework for the analysis of future cost development of new energy technologies for electricity generation; the analytical framework is based on an assessment of available experience curves, complemented with bottom-up analysis of sources of cost reductions and, for some technologies, judgmental expert assessments of long-term development paths. The results of these three methods agree in most cases, i.e. the cost (price) reductions described by the experience curves match the incremental cost reduction described in the bottom-up analysis and the judgmental expert assessments. For some technologies, the bottom-up analysis confirms large uncertainties in future cost development not captured by the experience curves. Experience curves with a learning rate ranging from 0% to 20% are suggested for the analysis of future cost development

Electricity to natural gas competition under customer-side technological change: a marginal cost pricing analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulli', Francesco

2004-01-01

This paper aims at evaluating the impact of technological change (on the customer side of the meter) on the network energy industry (electricity and natural gas). The performances of the small gas fired power technologies and the electrical reversible heat pumps have improved remarkably over the last ten years, making possible (or more viable) two opposite technological trajectories: the fully gas-based system, based on the use of small CHP (combined heat and power generation) plants, which would involve a wide decentralisation of energy supply; the fully electric-based system, based on the use of reversible electric heat pumps, which would imply increasing centralisation of energy supply. The analysis described in this paper attempts to evaluate how these two kinds of technological solutions can impact on inter-service competition when input prices are ste equals to marginal costs of supply in each stage of the electricity and natural gas industries. For this purpose, unbundled prices over time and over space are simulated. In particular the paper shows that unbundling prices over space in not very important in affecting electricity to natural gas competition and that, when prices are set equal to long-run marginal costs, the fully electric-based solution (the reversible heat pump) is by far preferable to the fully gas-based solution (the CHP gas fired small power plant). In consequence, the first best outcome of the technological change would involve increasing large power generation and imported (from the utility grid) electricity consumption. Given this framework, we have to ask ourselves why operators, regulators and legislators are so optimistic about the development of the fully gas-based solutions. In this respect, the paper suggests that market distortions (such as market power, energy taxation and inefficient pricing regulation) might have give an ambiguous representation of the optimal technological trajectory, inducing to overestimate the social value

Cost effectiveness and efficiency in assistive technology service delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, C G

1993-01-01

In order to develop and maintain a viable service delivery program, the realities of cost effectiveness and cost efficiency in providing assistive technology must be addressed. Cost effectiveness relates to value of the outcome compared to the expenditures. Cost efficiency analyzes how a provider uses available resources to supply goods and services. This paper describes how basic business principles of benefit/cost analysis can be used to determine cost effectiveness. In addition, basic accounting principles are used to illustrate methods of evaluating a program's cost efficiency. Service providers are encouraged to measure their own program's effectiveness and efficiency (and potential viability) in light of current trends. This paper is meant to serve as a catalyst for continued dialogue on this topic.

Final Report: Hydrogen Production Pathways Cost Analysis (2013 – 2016)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, Brian David [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); DeSantis, Daniel Allan [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Saur, Genevieve [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-09-30

This report summarizes work conducted under a three year Department of Energy (DOE) funded project to Strategic Analysis, Inc. (SA) to analyze multiple hydrogen (H₂) production technologies and project their corresponding levelized production cost of H₂. The analysis was conducted using the H2A Hydrogen Analysis Tool developed by the DOE and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The project was led by SA but conducted in close collaboration with the NREL and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). In-depth techno-economic analysis (TEA) of five different H₂ production methods was conducted. These TEAs developed projections for capital costs, fuel/feedstock usage, energy usage, indirect capital costs, land usage, labor requirements, and other parameters, for each H₂ production pathway, and use the resulting cost and system parameters as inputs into the H2A discounted cash flow model to project the production cost of H₂ ($/kgH₂). Five technologies were analyzed as part of the project and are summarized in this report: Proton Exchange Membrane technology (PEM), High temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell technology (SOEC), Dark fermentation of biomass for H₂ production, H₂ production via Monolithic Piston-Type Reactors with rapid swing reforming and regeneration reactions, and Reformer-Electrolyzer-Purifier (REP) technology developed by Fuel Cell Energy, Inc. (FCE).

Future costs of key low-carbon energy technologies: Harmonization and aggregation of energy technology expert elicitation data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, Erin; Bosetti, Valentina; Anadon, Laura Diaz; Henrion, Max; Aleluia Reis, Lara

2015-01-01

In this paper we standardize, compare, and aggregate results from thirteen surveys of technology experts, performed over a period of five years using a range of different methodologies, but all aiming at eliciting expert judgment on the future cost of five key energy technologies and how future costs might be influenced by public R&D investments. To enable researchers and policy makers to use the wealth of collective knowledge obtained through these expert elicitations we develop and present a set of assumptions to harmonize them. We also aggregate expert estimates within each study and across studies to facilitate the comparison. The analysis showed that, as expected, technology costs are expected to go down by 2030 with increasing levels of R&D investments, but that there is not a high level of agreement between individual experts or between studies regarding the technology areas that would benefit the most from R&D investments. This indicates that further study of prospective cost data may be useful to further inform R&D investments. We also found that the contributions of additional studies to the variance of costs in one technology area differed by technology area, suggesting that (barring new information about the downsides of particular forms of elicitations) there may be value in not only including a diverse and relatively large group of experts, but also in using different methods to collect estimates. - Highlights: • Harmonization of unique dataset on probabilistic evolution of key energy technologies. • Expectations about the impact of public R&D investments on future costs. • Highlighting the key uncertainties and a lack of consensus on cost evolution

Energy technologies for distributed utility applications: Cost and performance trends, and implications for photovoltaics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyer, J.M.

1994-01-01

Utilities are evaluating several electric generation and storage (G ampersand S) technologies for distributed utility (DU) applications. Attributes of leading DU technologies and implications for photovoltaics (PV) are described. Included is a survey of present and projected cost and performance for: (1) small, advanced combustion turbines (CTs); (2) advanced, natural gas-fired, diesel engines (diesel engines); and (3) advanced lead-acid battery systems (batteries). Technology drivers and relative qualitative benefits are described. A levelized energy cost-based cost target for PV for DU applications is provided. The analysis addresses only relative cost, for PV and for three selected alternative DU technologies. Comparable size, utility, and benefits are assumed, although relative value is application-specific and often technology- and site-specific

Energy balance, costs and CO2 analysis of tillage technologies in maize cultivation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Šarauskis, Egidijus; Buragienė, Sidona; Masilionytė, Laura; Romaneckas, Kęstutis; Avižienytė, Dovile; Sakalauskas, Antanas

2014-01-01

To achieve energy independence, Lithuania and other Baltic countries are searching for new ways to produce energy. Maize is a crop that is suitable for both food and forage, as well as for the production of bioenergy. The objective of this work was to assess the energy efficiency of maize cultivation technologies in different systems of reduced tillage. The experimental research and energy assessment was carried out for five different tillage systems: DP (deep ploughing), SP (), DC (deep cultivation), SC (shallow cultivation) and NT (no tillage). The assessment of the fuel inputs for these systems revealed that the greatest amount of diesel fuel (67.2 l ha −1 ) was used in the traditional DP system. The reduced tillage systems required 12–58% less fuel. Lower fuel consumption reduces the costs of technological operations and reduces CO 2 emissions, which are associated with the greenhouse effect. The agricultural machinery used in reduced tillage technologies emits 107–223 kg ha −1 of CO 2 gas into the environment, whereas DP emits 253 kg ha −1 of CO 2 . The energy analysis conducted in this study showed that the greatest total energy input (approximately 18.1 GJ ha −1 ) was associated with the conventional deep-ploughing tillage technology. The energy inputs associated with the reduced-tillage technologies, namely SP, DC and SC, ranged from 17.1 to 17.6 GJ ha −1 . The lowest energy input (16.2 GJ ha −1 ) was associated with the NT technology. Energy efficiency ratios for the various technologies were calculated as a function of the yield of maize grain and biomass. The best energy balance and the highest energy efficiency ratio (14.0) in maize cultivation was achieved with the NT technology. The energy efficiency ratios for DP, SP, DC and SC were 12.4, 13.4, 11.3 and 12.0, respectively. - Highlights: • Energetical and economic analysis of maize cultivation was done. • Reduced tillage technology reduces working time, fuel consumption

Cost-saving production technologies and partial ownership

OpenAIRE

Juan Carlos Barcena-Ruiz; Norma Olaizola

2007-01-01

This work analyzes the incentives to acquire cost-saving production technologies when cross-participation exists at ownership level. We show that cross-participation reduces the incentives to adopt the cost-saving production technology.

Digital vs conventional radiography: cost and revenue analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Palma, L.; Cuttin, R.; Rimondini, A.; Grisi, G.

1999-01-01

The objective of this study was to analyse and compare the operating and investment costs of two radiographic systems, a conventional and a digital one, and to evaluate the cost/revenue ratio of the two systems. The radiological activity over 1 year for chest and skeletal exams was evaluated: 13,401 chest and 7,124 skeletal exams were considered. The following parameters of variable costs were evaluated: the difference between variable proportional costs of the two technologies, the effective variable cost of any size film, including the chemicals, and for different sizes of digital film, variable costs of chest plus skeletal exams performed with the two techniques. Afterwards the economical effect was considered taking into account depreciation during a time of utilization ranging between 8 and 4 years. In the second part of the analysis the total cost and the revenues of the two technologies were determined. The comparison between the digital and conventional systems has shown the following aspects: 1. Digital radiography system has a much higher investment cost in comparison with the conventional one. 2. Operating costs of digital equipment are higher or lower depending on the film size used. Evaluating chest X-ray we reach a breakeven point after 1 year and 10,000 exams only if displayed over 8 x 10-in. film and after 30,000 if displayed over a 11 x 14-in. film. 3. The total cost (variable cost, technology cost, labour cost) of digital technology is lower than that of the conventional system by 20 % on average using 8 x 10-in. film size. 4. Digital technology also allows lesser film waste and lesser film per exam (orig.)

Cost Analysis In A Multi-Mission Operations Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Newhouse, M.; Felton, L.; Bornas, N.; Botts, D.; Roth, K.; Ijames, G.; Montgomery, P.

2014-01-01

Spacecraft control centers have evolved from dedicated, single-mission or single missiontype support to multi-mission, service-oriented support for operating a variety of mission types. At the same time, available money for projects is shrinking and competition for new missions is increasing. These factors drive the need for an accurate and flexible model to support estimating service costs for new or extended missions; the cost model in turn drives the need for an accurate and efficient approach to service cost analysis. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) provides operations services to a variety of customers around the world. HOSC customers range from launch vehicle test flights; to International Space Station (ISS) payloads; to small, short duration missions; and has included long duration flagship missions. The HOSC recently completed a detailed analysis of service costs as part of the development of a complete service cost model. The cost analysis process required the team to address a number of issues. One of the primary issues involves the difficulty of reverse engineering individual mission costs in a highly efficient multimission environment, along with a related issue of the value of detailed metrics or data to the cost model versus the cost of obtaining accurate data. Another concern is the difficulty of balancing costs between missions of different types and size and extrapolating costs to different mission types. The cost analysis also had to address issues relating to providing shared, cloud-like services in a government environment, and then assigning an uncertainty or risk factor to cost estimates that are based on current technology, but will be executed using future technology. Finally the cost analysis needed to consider how to validate the resulting cost models taking into account the non-homogeneous nature of the available cost data and the

Cost analysis of energy storage systems for electric utility applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akhil, A. [Sandia National Lab., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Swaminathan, S.; Sen, R.K. [R.K. Sen & Associates, Inc., Bethesda, MD (United States)

1997-02-01

Under the sponsorship of the Department of Energy, Office of Utility Technologies, the Energy Storage System Analysis and Development Department at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) conducted a cost analysis of energy storage systems for electric utility applications. The scope of the study included the analysis of costs for existing and planned battery, SMES, and flywheel energy storage systems. The analysis also identified the potential for cost reduction of key components.

Final Report: Hydrogen Storage System Cost Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, Brian David [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Houchins, Cassidy [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Huya-Kouadio, Jennie Moton [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); DeSantis, Daniel A. [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)

2016-09-30

The Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has identified hydrogen storage as a key enabling technology for advancing hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies in transportation, stationary, and portable applications. Consequently, FCTO has established targets to chart the progress of developing and demonstrating viable hydrogen storage technologies for transportation and stationary applications. This cost assessment project supports the overall FCTO goals by identifying the current technology system components, performance levels, and manufacturing/assembly techniques most likely to lead to the lowest system storage cost. Furthermore, the project forecasts the cost of these systems at a variety of annual manufacturing rates to allow comparison to the overall 2017 and “Ultimate” DOE cost targets. The cost breakdown of the system components and manufacturing steps can then be used to guide future research and development (R&D) decisions. The project was led by Strategic Analysis Inc. (SA) and aided by Rajesh Ahluwalia and Thanh Hua from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Lin Simpson at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Since SA coordinated the project activities of all three organizations, this report includes a technical description of all project activity. This report represents a summary of contract activities and findings under SA’s five year contract to the US Department of Energy (Award No. DE-EE0005253) and constitutes the “Final Scientific Report” deliverable. Project publications and presentations are listed in the Appendix.

An analysis of cost effective incentives for initial commercial deployment of advanced clean coal technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spencer, D.F. [SIMTECHE, Half Moon Bay, CA (United States)

1997-12-31

This analysis evaluates the incentives necessary to introduce commercial scale Advanced Clean Coal Technologies, specifically Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (ICGCC) and Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC) powerplants. The incentives required to support the initial introduction of these systems are based on competitive busbar electricity costs with natural gas fired combined cycle powerplants, in baseload service. A federal government price guarantee program for up to 10 Advanced Clean Coal Technology powerplants, 5 each ICGCC and PFBC systems is recommended in order to establish the commercial viability of these systems by 2010. By utilizing a decreasing incentives approach as the technologies mature (plants 1--5 of each type), and considering the additional federal government benefits of these plants versus natural gas fired combined cycle powerplants, federal government net financial exposure is minimized. Annual net incentive outlays of approximately 150 million annually over a 20 year period could be necessary. Based on increased demand for Advanced Clean Coal Technologies beyond 2010, the federal government would be revenue neutral within 10 years of the incentives program completion.

Parametric Cost and Schedule Modeling for Early Technology Development

Science.gov (United States)

2018-04-02

Research NoteNational Security Rep rt PARAMETRIC MODELING FOR EARLY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT COST AND SCHEDULE Chuck...Alexander NSR_11x17_Cover_CostModeling_v8.indd 1 11/20/17 3:15 PM PARAMETRIC COST AND SCHEDULE MODELING FOR EARLY  TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Chuck...COST AND SCHEDULE MODELING FOR EARLY  TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT iii Contents Figures

Photovoltaic technology, performance, manufacturing cost and markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maycock, P.D.

1999-01-01

A comprehensive discussion of key aspects of photovoltaic energy conversion systems will provide the basis for forecasting PV module shipments from 1999 to 2010. Principal areas covered include: (1) Technology and Performance Status: The module efficiency and performance are described for commercial cell technologies including single crystal silicon, polycrystal silicon, ribbon silicon, film silicon on low cost substrate, amorphous silicon, copper indium diselenide, and cadmium telluride; (2) Manufacturing cost: 1999 costs for PV technologies in production (single crystal silicon, polycrystal silicon, and amorphous silicon) are developed. Manufacturing costs for 10--25 MW plants and 100 MW plants will be estimated; (3) The world PV market is summarized by region, top ten companies, and technology; and (4) Forecast of the World Market (seven market sectors) to 2010 will be presented. Key assumptions, price of modules, incentive programs, price of competing electricity generation will be detailed

Cost-effectiveness of nitrogen mitigation by alternative household wastewater management technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Alison; Blackhurst, Michael; Hawkins, Troy; Xue, Xiaobo; Ashbolt, Nicholas; Garland, Jay

2015-03-01

Household wastewater, especially from conventional septic systems, is a major contributor to nitrogen pollution. Alternative household wastewater management technologies provide similar sewerage management services but their life cycle costs and nitrogen flow implications remain uncertain. This paper addresses two key questions: (1) what are the total costs, nitrogen mitigation potential, and cost-effectiveness of a range of conventional and alternative municipal wastewater treatment technologies, and (2) what uncertainties influence these outcomes and how can we improve our understanding of these technologies? We estimate a household nitrogen mass balance for various household wastewater treatment systems and combine this mass balance with life cycle cost assessment to calculate the cost-effectiveness of nitrogen mitigation, which we define as nitrogen removed from the local watershed. We apply our methods to Falmouth, MA, where failing septic systems have caused heightened eutrophication in local receiving water bodies. We find that flushing and dry (composting) urine-diversion toilets paired with conventional septic systems for greywater management demonstrate the lowest life cycle cost and highest cost-effectiveness (dollars per kilogram of nitrogen removed from the watershed). Composting toilets are also attractive options in some cases, particularly best-case nitrogen mitigation. Innovative/advanced septic systems designed for high-level nitrogen removal are cost-competitive options for newly constructed homes, except at their most expensive. A centralized wastewater treatment plant is the most expensive and least cost-effective option in all cases. Using a greywater recycling system with any treatment technology increases the cost without adding any nitrogen removal benefits. Sensitivity analysis shows that these results are robust considering a range of cases and uncertainties. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Food Irradiation Update and Cost Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

1991-11-01

Natick). Significant contributions were made by Dr. Irwin Taub and Mr. Christopher Rees of the Technology Acquisition Division, Food Engineering...stability. 5 Food Irradiation Update C-ost Analysis I. Introduction In the book The Physioloqy of Taste (1825), one of the pioneers of gastronomy ...review of the utility that radiation preserved foods might offer the military food service system. To date, this technology has seen limited use in the

Extensive analysis of hydrogen costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guinea, D M; Martin, D; Garcia-Alegre, M C; Guinea, D [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Arganda, Madrid (Spain). Inst. de Automatica Industrial; Agila, W E [Acciona Infraestructuras, Alcobendas, Madrid (Spain). Dept. I+D+i

2010-07-01

Cost is a key issue in the spreading of any technology. In this work, the cost of hydrogen is analyzed and determined, for hydrogen obtained by electrolysis. Different contributing partial costs are taken into account to calculate the hydrogen final cost, such as energy and electrolyzers taxes. Energy cost data is taken from official URLs, while electrolyzer costs are obtained from commercial companies. The analysis is accomplished under different hypothesis, and for different countries: Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and the Canadian region of Ontario. Finally, the obtained costs are compared to those of the most used fossil fuels, both in the automotive industry (gasoline and diesel) and in the residential sector (butane, coal, town gas and wood), and the possibilities of hydrogen competing against fuels are discussed. According to this work, in the automotive industry, even neglecting subsidies, hydrogen can compete with fossil fuels. Hydrogen can also compete with gaseous domestic fuels. Electrolyzer prices were found to have the highest influence on hydrogen prices. (orig.)

Cost-benefit analysis of the ATM automatic deposit service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivica Županović

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Bankers and other financial experts have analyzed the value of automated teller machines (ATM in terms of growing consumer demand, rising costs of technology development, decreasing profitability and market share. This paper presents a step-by-step cost-benefit analysis of the ATM automatic deposit service. The first step is to determine user attitudes towards using ATM automatic deposit service by using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM. The second step is to determine location priorities for ATMs that provide automatic deposit services using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP model. The results of the previous steps enable a highly efficient application of cost-benefit analysis for evaluating costs and benefits of automatic deposit services. To understand fully the proposed procedure outside of theoretical terms, a real-world application of a case study is conducted.

Cost-benefit analysis for management of low-level radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, D.G.

1979-01-01

There are several types of cost-benefit analyses that can be used in evaluating a technical activity such as waste management. A direct comparison can be made of the benefits to be gained versus the costs to be accrued. If the balance is favorable the activity is considered to be acceptable. In many cases, however, a number of alternatives may be available requiring a comparative cost-benefit analysis so that the most favorable option is chosen. After the basic option is chosen, a further analysis is required in which additional control technologies can be considered to further reduce specific types of impact; this represents a differential cost-benefit analysis or, perhaps more properly, a study of cost-effectiveness. Also, because of the wide variety of parameters that go into a cost-benefit analysis and the range of value judgements that may be applied by different interest groups, it is likely that each additional increment of technology will have a slightly different balance point. Factors and impacts that need to be considered in management of low-level wastes will be discussed and a simplified example will be used to demonstrate the difficulties that may be encountered

Cost-benefit analysis for management of low-level radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, D.G.

1977-01-01

There are several types of cost-benefit analyses that can be used in evaluating a technical activity such as waste management. A direct comparison can be made of the benefits to be gained versus the costs to be accrued. If the balance is favorable, the activity is considered to be acceptable. In many cases, however, a number of alternatives may be available requiring a comparative cost-benefit analysis so that the most favorable option is chosen. After the basic option is chosen, a further analysis is required in which additional control technologies can be considered to further reduce specific types of impact; this represents a differential cost-benefit analysis or, perhaps more properly, a study of cost-effectiveness. Also, because of the wide variety of parameters that go into a cost-benefit analysis and the range of value judgements that may be applied by different interest groups, it is likely that each additional increment of technology will have a slightly different balance point. Factors and impacts that need to be considered in management of low-level wastes will be discussed and a simplified example will be used to demonstrate the difficulties that may be encountered

New nuclear power generation in the UK: Cost benefit analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, David

2007-01-01

This paper provides an economic analysis of possible nuclear new build in the UK. It compares costs and benefits of nuclear new build against conventional gas-fired generation and low carbon technologies (CCS, wind, etc.). A range of scenarios are considered to allow for uncertainty as regards nuclear and other technology costs, gas prices and carbon prices. In the base case, the analysis suggests that there is a small cost penalty for new nuclear generation relative to conventional gas-fired generation, but that this is offset by environmental and security of supply benefits. More generally nuclear new build has a positive net benefit for a range of plausible nuclear costs, gas prices and carbon prices. This supports the UK policy of developing an enabling framework for nuclear new build in a market-based context. To the extent that assumptions in the analysis are not borne out in reality (e.g. as regards nuclear cost), this is a no regrets policy, given that the market would not invest in nuclear if it is prohibitively costly. (author)

The value function as a criterion of analysis in separation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peculea, Marius

2005-01-01

Production costs of heavy water are described by two functions: φ(ε), the energy function which represents the variable costs and φ(τ), the technologic function which represents the stable costs. The Dirac value function related to the circulation in the separation cascade allows calculating φ(ε) and consequently the technologic function may be represented in relation to the specific separation process. This representation allows the qualitative analysis of different separation processes or, for a given process, provides the analysis of different technological solutions which were worked out. An example is given referring to the analysis of heavy water technologies of separation through the dual temperature process of H 2 O-H 2 S isotopic exchange

Endogenous Technology Adoption and Medical Costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamiraud, Karine; Lhuillery, Stephane

2016-09-01

Despite the claim that technology has been one of the most important drivers of healthcare spending growth over the past decades, technology variables are rarely introduced explicitly in cost equations. Furthermore, technology is often considered exogenous. Using 1996-2007 panel data on Swiss geographical areas, we assessed the impact of technology availability on per capita healthcare spending covered by basic health insurance whilst controlling for the endogeneity of health technology availability variables. Our results suggest that medical research, patent intensity and the density of employees working in the medical device industry are influential factors for the adoption of technology and can be used as instruments for technology availability variables in the cost equation. These results are similar to previous findings: CT and PET scanner adoption is associated with increased healthcare spending, whilst increased availability of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty facilities is associated with reductions in per capita spending. However, our results suggest that the magnitude of these relationships is much greater in absolute value than that suggested by previous studies that did not control for the possible endogeneity of the availability of technologies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cost-effectiveness on a local level: whether and when to adopt a new technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Woertman, Willem H; Van De Wetering, Gijs; Adang, Eddy M M

2014-04-01

Cost-effectiveness analysis has become a widely accepted tool for decision making in health care. The standard textbook cost-effectiveness analysis focuses on whether to make the switch from an old or common practice technology to an innovative technology, and in doing so, it takes a global perspective. In this article, we are interested in a local perspective, and we look at the questions of whether and when the switch from old to new should be made. A new approach to cost-effectiveness from a local (e.g., a hospital) perspective, by means of a mathematical model for cost-effectiveness that explicitly incorporates time, is proposed. A decision rule is derived for establishing whether a new technology should be adopted, as well as a general rule for establishing when it pays to postpone adoption by 1 more period, and a set of decision rules that can be used to determine the optimal timing of adoption. Finally, a simple example is presented to illustrate our model and how it leads to optimal decision making in a number of cases.

Evaluation of Costs in Asparagus Production in Relation to Different Technological Processes in Conditions of Slovak Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrik Burg

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study deals with analysis structure of cost on the production of asparagus in relation to three different technological processes in conditions of Slovak Republic. Obtained results can be used as a template to prepare budgets and make production decisions to estimate potential returns and to analyze investment and financial analysis decisions in the asparagus cultivation. Production practices used in the budget are based on typical practices for asparagus in this country. From the analysis of the cost structure of assessed variants different technological procedures follows that the largest share of the costs fall to purchased material and labor.

Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS)

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neil, Daniel A.; Mankins, John C.

2004-01-01

Developing credible mass and cost estimates for space exploration and development architectures require multidisciplinary analysis based on physics calculations, and parametric estimates derived from historical systems. Within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), concurrent engineering environment (CEE) activities integrate discipline oriented analysis tools through a computer network and accumulate the results of a multidisciplinary analysis team via a centralized database or spreadsheet Each minute of a design and analysis study within a concurrent engineering environment is expensive due the size of the team and supporting equipment The Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS) reduces the cost of architecture analysis by capturing the knowledge of discipline experts into system oriented spreadsheet models. A framework with a user interface presents a library of system models to an architecture analyst. The analyst selects models of launchers, in-space transportation systems, and excursion vehicles, as well as space and surface infrastructure such as propellant depots, habitats, and solar power satellites. After assembling the architecture from the selected models, the analyst can create a campaign comprised of missions spanning several years. The ATLAS controller passes analyst specified parameters to the models and data among the models. An integrator workbook calls a history based parametric analysis cost model to determine the costs. Also, the integrator estimates the flight rates, launched masses, and architecture benefits over the years of the campaign. An accumulator workbook presents the analytical results in a series of bar graphs. In no way does ATLAS compete with a CEE; instead, ATLAS complements a CEE by ensuring that the time of the experts is well spent Using ATLAS, an architecture analyst can perform technology sensitivity analysis, study many scenarios, and see the impact of design decisions. When the analyst is

Environmental performance review and cost analysis of MSW landfilling by baling-wrapping technology versus conventional system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldasano, J.M.; Gasso, S.; Perez, C.

2003-01-01

This paper first reviews the chemical, physical and biological processes, and the environmental performance of MSW compacted and plastic-wrapped into air-tight bales with low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The baling-wrapping process halts the short and half-term biological activity and consequently the emission of gases and leachates. It also facilitates the handling of the refuse, and considerably reduces the main environmental impacts of a landfill. The main technologies available for baling-wrapping MSW are also presented. Furthermore, a cost analysis comparing a conventional landfill (CL) without baling system versus two landfills using different baling-wrapping technologies (rectangular and cylindrical bales) is carried out. The results are presented comparatively under the conditions of construction, operation and maintenance and postclosure, as required by European Directive 1999/31. A landfill using rectangular plastic-wrapped bales (LRPB) represents an economically competitive option compared to a CL. The increased capacity of the waste disposal zone when using rectangular bales due to the high density of the bales compensates for the increased operating and maintenance (O and M) costs of the method. Landfills using cylindrical plastic-wrapped bales (LCPB's) do not fare so well, mainly because the density within the bales is lower, the cylindrical geometry of the bales does not allow such an efficient use of the space within the landfill, and the processing capacity of the machinery is lower. From the cost model, the resulting unit costs per tonne in a LRPB, a LCPB and a CL for 100,000 t/year of waste, an operation time of 15 years and a landfill depth (H) of 20 m, are 31.52, 43.36 and 31.83 Euro/t, respectively

Cost estimate guidelines for advanced nuclear power technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudson, C.R. II.

1986-07-01

To make comparative assessments of competing technologies, consistent ground rules must be applied when developing cost estimates. This document provides a uniform set of assumptions, ground rules, and requirements that can be used in developing cost estimates for advanced nuclear power technologies

Cost estimate guidelines for advanced nuclear power technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudson, C.R. II.

1987-07-01

To make comparative assessments of competing technologies, consistent ground rules must be applied when developing cost estimates. This document provides a uniform set of assumptions, ground rules, and requirements that can be used in developing cost estimates for advanced nuclear power technologies

Cost benefit analysis cost effectiveness analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lombard, J.

1986-09-01

The comparison of various protection options in order to determine which is the best compromise between cost of protection and residual risk is the purpose of the ALARA procedure. The use of decision-aiding techniques is valuable as an aid to selection procedures. The purpose of this study is to introduce two rather simple and well known decision aiding techniques: the cost-effectiveness analysis and the cost-benefit analysis. These two techniques are relevant for the great part of ALARA decisions which need the use of a quantitative technique. The study is based on an hypothetical case of 10 protection options. Four methods are applied to the data

Cost/benefit analysis for selected waste minimization technologies at TA-55

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boerigter, S.T.

1996-01-01

The TA-55 plutonium facility at LANL is one of the remaining plutonium-handling facilities in the United States with significant operational capability. In recent years a great deal of attention has been focused on the waste streams generated by this facility. Costs of properly treating these streams have risen significantly. This paper discusses the characterization of several proposed radioactive waste minimization technologies as a function of Return on Investment (ROI). In particular, the DOE Environmental Management program has identified a specific funding channel for such technology development activities, but this funding channel requires a restrictive definition of ROI. Here, a simple extension to the required ROI equation is used to capture the lifecycle ROI due to offsets in future capital charges resulting from present spending

Renewable Energies and CO2 Cost Analysis, Environmental Impacts and Technological Trends- 2012 Edition

CERN Document Server

Guerrero-Lemus, Ricardo

2013-01-01

Providing up-to-date numerical data across a range of topics related to renewable energy technologies, Renewable Energies and CO2 offers a one-stop source of key information to engineers, economists and all other professionals working in the energy and climate change sectors. The most relevant up-to-date numerical data are exposed in 201 tables and graphs, integrated in terms of units and methodology, and covering topics such as energy system capacities and lifetimes, production costs, energy payback ratios, carbon emissions, external costs, patents and literature statistics. The data are first presented and then analyzed to project potential future grid, heat and fuel parity scenarios, as well as future technology tendencies in different energy technological areas. Innovative highlights and descriptions of preproduction energy systems and components from the past four years have been gathered from selected journals and international energy departments from G20 countries. As the field develops, readers are in...

Quantifying the benefits: Energy, cost, and employment impacts of advanced industrial technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, G.P.; Roop, J.M.; Schultz, R.W.

1997-01-01

This development effort was supported by the Technologies Partnerships Program established through the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy via the Office of Industrial Technology (OIT). This program supports research, development, and demonstration of industrial technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency and productivity while reducing pollution, material waste, and operations/maintenance costs. The goal of this program is to develop cost-shared partnerships with industry, government and non-government organizations to foster improved efficiency, productivity, and pollution prevention technologies. This partnership program is believed to be one way that energy efficiency will be delivered to industry in the 21st Century. This paper reports on the development of the Industrial Technology Employment Analysis Model (ITEAM) which calculates economy-wide employment impacts of specific partnership program technologies, using data developed by the technology partner. ITEAM is a desk-top computer model that allows users to evaluate base-case partnership data and/or run sensitivity tests using its graphical-user-interface features. To demonstrate the capabilities of ITEAM, an analysis is presented for the chemicals industry. In addition, the following major industries have been analyzed and summary data are presented: aluminum, stone/clay/glass, forest products, chemicals, metal casting, steel, and petroleum. This paper addresses the development, function, and use of ITEAM. Included is a presentation of key assumptions along with user inputs and a discussion of sensitivities. The results of ITEAM runs for over 20 technology projects in 7 program areas are reported. The paper also explains how the project data are used to modify the 1987 I/O table to impact output and employment. The calculations are explained and the approach is rationalized. The argument for this approach rests on the proposition that improvements in efficiency

Permeable treatment wall design and cost analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manz, C.; Quinn, K.

1997-01-01

A permeable treatment wall utilizing the funnel and gate technology has been chosen as the final remedial solution for one industrial site, and is being considered at other contaminated sites, such as a closed municipal landfill. Reactive iron gates will be utilized for treatment of chlorinated VOCs identified in the groundwater. Alternatives for the final remedial solution at each site were evaluated to achieve site closure in the most cost effective manner. This paper presents the remedial alternatives and cost analyses for each site. Several options are available at most sites for the design of a permeable treatment wall. Our analysis demonstrates that the major cost factor's for this technology are the design concept, length, thickness, location and construction methods for the reactive wall. Minimizing the amount of iron by placement in the most effective area and construction by the lowest cost method is critical to achieving a low cost alternative. These costs dictate the design of a permeable treatment wall, including selection of a variety of alternatives (e.g., a continuous wall versus a funnel and gate system, fully penetrating gates versus partially penetrating gates, etc.). Selection of the appropriate construction methods and materials for the site can reduce the overall cost of the wall

Cost benefit analysis in diagnostic radiology: glossary and definitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golder, W.

1999-01-01

Cost efficiency analyses in clinical radiology require the application of methods and techniques that are not yet part of the academic qualifications of the specialists. The procedures used are borrowed from economics, decision theory, applied social sciences, epidemiology and statistics. Many expressions hail from the angloamerican literature and are presently not yet germanized unequivocally. This survey is intended to present main terms of cost efficiency analysis in the English version as well as a German translation, to give a clear definition and, if necessary, explanatory notes, and to illustrate their application by means of concrete radiologic examples. The selection of the terms is based on the hierarchical models of health technology assessment resp. clinical outcome research by Fryback and Thronbury resp. Maisey and Hutton. In concrete terms, both the differences between benefit, outcomes, and utility and the differences between effectiveness, efficacy and efficiency and the differences between direct, indirect, intangible, and marginal costs are explained. True cost efficiency analysis is compared with cost effectiveness analysis, cost identification analysis, cost minimization analysis, and cost utility analysis. Applied social sciences are represented by the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and the QALY conception. From decision theory both the analysis of hypothetical alternatives and the Markov model are taken. Finally, sensitivity analysis and the procedures of combined statistical evaluation of comparable results (meta-analysis) are quoted. (orig.) [de

Cost estimate guidelines for advanced nuclear power technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delene, J.G.; Hudson, C.R. II.

1990-03-01

To make comparative assessments of competing technologies, consistent ground rules must be applied when developing cost estimates. This document provides a uniform set of assumptions, ground rules, and requirements that can be used in developing cost estimates for advanced nuclear power technologies. 10 refs., 8 figs., 32 tabs

Financing end-use solar technologies in a restructured electricity industry: Comparing the cost of public policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, E.; Eto, J.

1997-09-01

Renewable energy technologies are capital intensive. Successful public policies for promoting renewable energy must address the significant resources needed to finance them. Public policies to support financing for renewable energy technologies must pay special attention to interactions with federal, state, and local taxes. These interactions are important because they can dramatically increase or decrease the effectiveness of a policy, and they determine the total cost of a policy to society as a whole. This report describes a comparative analysis of the cost of public policies to support financing for two end-use solar technologies: residential solar domestic hot water heating (SDHW) and residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. The analysis focuses on the cost of the technologies under five different ownership and financing scenarios. Four scenarios involve leasing the technologies to homeowners in return for a payment that is determined by the financing requirements of each form of ownership. For each scenario, the authors examine nine public policies that might be used to lower the cost of these technologies: investment tax credits (federal and state), production tax credits (federal and state), production incentives, low-interest loans, grants (taxable and two types of nontaxable), direct customer payments, property and sales tax reductions, and accelerated depreciation

Technology transfer by multinational firms: the resource cost of transferring technological know-how

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teece, D J

1977-06-01

The essence of modern economic growth is the increase in the stock of useful knowledge and the extension of its application. Since the origins of technical and social innovations have never been confined to the borders of any one nation, the economic growth of all countries depends to some degree on the successful application of a transnational stock of knowledge. Nevertheless, economists have been remarkably slow in addressing themselves to the economics of international technology transfer. This paper addresses itself to this need. The starting-point is Arrow's suggestion (Am. Econ. Review, 52: 29-35 (May 1969)) that the cost of communication, or information transfer, is a fundamental factor influencing the world-wide diffusion of technology. The purpose of the paper is to examine the level and determinants of the costs involved in transferring technology. The value of the resources that have to be utilized to accomplish the successful transfer of a given manufacturing technology is used as a measure of the cost of transfer. The resource cost concept is therefore designed to reflect the ease or difficulty of transferring technological know-how from manufacturing plants in one country to manufacturing plants in another. 32 references.

Cost decreases in environmental technology. Evidence from four case studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oosterhuis, F. [Instituut for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit VU, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2007-07-15

The cost of a new technology tends to decrease as its uptake grows, and environmental technology is no exception to this general rule. Factors that can bring about such cost reductions include economies of scale, 'learning-by-doing', incremental technological improvements, and growing competition. In preparing environmental policies, the potential for future cost reductions is often disregarded. The present study aims to provide some additional empirical evidence on the cost decreases in environmental technology and the factors that lie behind them. To this end, four exemplary case studies have been selected. The first case (NOx emission abatement by Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)), shows a wide variety in cost estimates, without a clear trend. This is even true for the costs of a fairly homogeneous type of investment (SCR in coal fired power plants). Nevertheless, it is clear that an important cost decrease has been achieved by prolonging the lifetime of the catalyst, which is one of the main cost components in SCR. In the second case (NH3 emission abatement by chemical air scrubbers in pig farming) there is not yet sufficient experience with the technology to draw conclusions on the development of costs. However, it is already clear that economizing on the capacity of the system can contribute to important cost savings. Three-way catalytic converters in cars have shown significant price decreases following their large scale introduction on the European market in the early 1990s. Probably economies of scale have played an important role in this case, as the size of the market made mass production possible. To some extent, cost reductions may also be attributed to improvements such as the need for less materials (e.g. platinum). Furthermore, the performance of catalytic converters has improved, implying that the cost per unit of emission reduction has decreased even more than the cost of the device itself. Market prices of Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Healthcare technology: physician collaboration in reducing the surgical cost.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Steven A; Obremskey, William T; Bozic, Kevin J

2013-06-01

The increasing cost of providing health care is a national concern. Healthcare spending related to providing hospital care is one of the primary drivers of healthcare spending in the United States. Adoption of advanced medical technologies accounts for the largest percentage of growth in healthcare spending in the United States when compared with other developed countries. Within the specialty of orthopaedic surgery, a variety of implants can result in similar outcomes for patients in several areas of clinical care. However, surgeons often do not know the cost of implants used in a specific procedure or how the use of an implant or technology affects the overall cost of the episode of care. The purposes of this study were (1) to describe physician-led processes for introduction of new surgical products and technologies; and (2) to inform physicians of potential cost savings of physician-led product contract negotiations and approval of new technology. We performed a detailed review of the steps taken by two centers that have implemented surgeon-led programs to demonstrate responsibility in technology acquisition and product procurement decision-making. Each program has developed a physician peer review process in technology and new product acquisition that has resulted in a substantial reduction in spending for the respective hospitals in regard to surgical implants. Implant costs have decreased between 3% and 38% using different negotiating strategies. At the same time, new product requests by physicians have been approved in greater than 90% of instances. Hospitals need physicians to be engaged and informed in discussions concerning current and new technology and products. Surgeons can provide leadership for these efforts to reduce the cost of high-quality care.

Costs and returns analysis of improved and alternative cassava ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The specific objectives of the study was an analysis of the costs and returns of improved and alternative technologies available in the study area by farmers and their level of adoption of the new technologies. Data were collected from a random sample of 250 farmers and 30 extension Staff in the three (3) agricultural zones ...

Governance Based on Cost Analysis (Unit Cost Analysis for Vocational Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandra Situmeang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This study aims to calculate unit cost to produce one middle-level vocational school graduate (in Indonesian terms known as "Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan” abbreviated as SMK. The calculation is required because operational grant funds (in Indonesian terms known as antuan Operasional Sekolah abbreviated as BOS are distributed so far to the same extent in all areas of Indonesia and for all majors. This is most likely less than optimal because in fact there are very basic characteristics differences including; Economic capacity of each region, the cost standard for each region, and the type of department in the school. Based on this, the researcher assumed that cost analysis should be done by considering these things as a basis to provide BOS funds tailored to specific characteristics. The data to be analyzed in this research is North Sumatra province data. This research is conducted in two stages, which in this report only completed the first phase which is a survey in North Sumatra region. Stages of survey to obtain data which then analyzed with related data such as community income, learning outcomes through the value of national examinations, tuition fee, and conditions of learning facilities. The research is funded by the ministries of research, technology and higher education through competing grant schemes for fiscal year 2017 and 2018. The result of correlation analysis between the variables shows that there is a strong relationship between the average income with average tuition paid by the community and between average tuition paid by the community with Quality Level of Education Facilities. The result of correlation analysis also shows a moderate relationship between the average tuition with learning outcomes measured through average national exam and relationship between quality level of education facilities with average national exam. While the relationship between average income with average national exam does not have a strong

Integral cost-benefit analysis of Maglev technology under market imperfections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elhorst, J. Paul; Oosterhaven, Jan; Romp, Ward E.

2001-01-01

The aim of this article is to assess a proposed new mode of guided high speed ground transportation, the magnetic levitation rail system (Maglev), and to compare the results of a partial cost-benefit analysis with those of an integral CBA. We deal with an urbanconglomeration as well as a

CO{sub 2} mitigation costs of large-scale bioenergy technologies in competitive electricity markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gustavsson, L [Mid-Sweden University, Ostersund (Sweden). Dept. of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Ecotechnology; Madlener, R [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). CEPE

2003-11-01

In this study, we compare and contrast the impact of recent technological developments in large biomass-fired and natural-gas-fired cogeneration and condensing plants in terms of CO{sub 2} mitigation costs and under the conditions of a competitive electricity market. The CO{sub 2} mitigation cost indicates the minimum economic incentive required (e.g. in the form of a carbon tax) to equal the cost of a less carbon extensive system with the cost of a reference system. The results show that CO{sub 2} mitigation costs are lower for biomass systems than for natural gas systems with decarbonization. However, in liberalized energy markets and given the sociopolitical will to implement carbon extensive energy systems, market-based policy measures are still required to make biomass and decarbonization options competitive and thus help them to penetrate the market. This cost of cogeneration plants, however, depends on the evaluation method used. If we account for the limitation of heat sinks by expanding the reference entity to include both heat and power, as is typically recommended in life-cycle analysis, then the biomass-based gasification combined cycle (BIG/CC) technology turns out to be less expensive and to exhibit lower CO{sub 2} mitigation costs than biomass-fired steam turbine plants. However, a heat credit granted to cogeneration systems that is based on avoided cost of separate heat production, puts the steam turbine technology despite its lower system efficiency at an advantage. In contrast, when a crediting method based on avoided electricity production in natural gas fired condensing plants is employed, the BIG/CC technology turns out to be more cost competitive than the steam turbine technology for carbon tax levels beyond about $150/t C. Furthermore, steam turbine plants are able to compete with natural gas fired cogeneration plants at carbon tax levels higher than about $90/tC. (author)

Cost-benefit analysis of electrical vehicles. Cars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taszka, Stephane; Domergue, Silvano; Poret, Mathilde; Monnoyer-Smith, Laurence

2017-07-01

This study aims at assessing technologies of electrical or hybrid vehicle from a social-economic point of view as well as from a user's point of view by 2020 and 2030, and thus at identifying relevant fields for these technologies. After having recalled some elements of context (Paris agreement, climate change issues for which transport is an important matter of concern, necessity to reduce CO 2 emissions, atmospheric pollution, and sound pollutions), and envisaged solutions (technological advances in engines and motorizations, evolution of mobility behaviours, use of alternate fuels and more particularly of electric and hybrid vehicles), the authors report a social-economic analysis which compares costs and benefits while taking environmental externalities into account, and an analysis of consumer's or user's point of view by using a total cost of ownership (TCO) approach which takes taxation into account. Four technologies are thus studied: thermal vehicles (petrol and diesel), hybrid vehicles, reloadable hybrid vehicles, and fully electrical vehicles. The implemented methodology and general hypotheses are presented. Results are presented and discussed. They show that an electric vehicle could be already profitable in a dense urban environment in 2020, and hybrid technology in 2030. A mixed use (electric propulsion in urban environment, thermal propulsion for inter-urban trips) seems to be the best solution before these both horizons. The study also reports some elements of assessment of the 'smart grid' value of electric vehicle batteries. Appendices propose detailed assessments and indications of sources of pollutant emissions

A comparative study on energy use and cost analysis of potato production under different farming technologies in Hamadan province of Iran

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zangeneh, Morteza; Omid, Mahmoud; Akram, Asadollah [Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj (Iran)

2010-07-15

The aim of this study was to determine the amount of input-output energy used in potato production and to make an economic analysis of potato production in Hamadan province, Iran. Data for the production of potatoes were collected from 100 producers by using a face to face questionnaire method. The population investigated was divided into two groups. Group I was consisted of 68 farmers (owner of machinery and high level of farming technology) and Group II of 32 farmers (non-owner of machinery and low level of farming technology). The results revealed that 153071.40 MJ ha{sup -1} energy consumed by Group I and 157151.12 MJ ha{sup -1} energy consumed by Group II. The energy ratio, energy productivity, specific energy, net energy gain and energy intensiveness were calculated. The net energy of potato production in Group I and Group II was 4110.95 MJ ha{sup -1} and -21744.67 MJ ha{sup -1}, respectively. Cost analysis showed that total cost of potato production in Groups I and II were 4784.68 and 4172.64 $ ha{sup -1}, respectively. The corresponding, benefit to cost ratio from potato production in the surveyed groups were 1.09 and 0.96, respectively. It was concluded that extension activities are needed to improve the efficiency of energy consumption in potato production. (author)

The role of technology in reducing health care costs. Phase II and phase III.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cilke, John F.; Parks, Raymond C.; Funkhouser, Donald Ray; Tebo, Michael A.; Murphy, Martin D.; Hightower, Marion Michael; Gallagher, Linda K.; Craft, Richard Layne, II; Garcia, Rudy John

2004-04-01

In Phase I of this project, reported in SAND97-1922, Sandia National Laboratories applied a systems approach to identifying innovative biomedical technologies with the potential to reduce U.S. health care delivery costs while maintaining care quality. The effort provided roadmaps for the development and integration of technology to meet perceived care delivery requirements and an economic analysis model for development of care pathway costs for two conditions: coronary artery disease (CAD) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Phases II and III of this project, which are presented in this report, were directed at detailing the parameters of telemedicine that influence care delivery costs and quality. These results were used to identify and field test the communication, interoperability, and security capabilities needed for cost-effective, secure, and reliable health care via telemedicine.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of the SEAMIST trademark membrane system technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriksen, A.D.; Booth, S.R.

1995-01-01

SEAMIST trademark is a new technology that consists of an airtight membrane liner that is pneumatically emplaced inside the borehole. The positive air pressure inside the liner maintains the integrity of the borehole structure. Sampling ports with attached tubing, absorbent collectors, or various in situ measuring devices can be fabricated into the liner and used for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), pesticides, herbicides, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, or radioactive substances. In addition, small instruments can be guided through the lined borehole and measurements taken inside at specified intervals. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cost and performance effectiveness of this new technology. To do so, the authors constructed five hypothetical scenarios in which utilization of the SEAMIST trademark system can address various needs of the Department of Energy's environmental remediation program. Two of the scenarios involve vertical boreholes (or vertical instrument configurations) and two involve horizontal boreholes (or horizontal instrument configurations). The four scenarios jointly address contamination by VOCS, SVOCS, various water-soluble toxic substances, and low-level radioactive waste. One of the scenarios involves towing an instrument through a borehole and taking measurements of moisture levels in the surrounding soil

Early assessment of the likely cost-effectiveness of a new technology: A Markov model with probabilistic sensitivity analysis of computer-assisted total knee replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Hengjin; Buxton, Martin

2006-01-01

The objective of this study is to apply a Markov model to compare cost-effectiveness of total knee replacement (TKR) using computer-assisted surgery (CAS) with that of TKR using a conventional manual method in the absence of formal clinical trial evidence. A structured search was carried out to identify evidence relating to the clinical outcome, cost, and effectiveness of TKR. Nine Markov states were identified based on the progress of the disease after TKR. Effectiveness was expressed by quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The simulation was carried out initially for 120 cycles of a month each, starting with 1,000 TKRs. A discount rate of 3.5 percent was used for both cost and effectiveness in the incremental cost-effectiveness analysis. Then, a probabilistic sensitivity analysis was carried out using a Monte Carlo approach with 10,000 iterations. Computer-assisted TKR was a long-term cost-effective technology, but the QALYs gained were small. After the first 2 years, the incremental cost per QALY of computer-assisted TKR was dominant because of cheaper and more QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was sensitive to the "effect of CAS," to the CAS extra cost, and to the utility of the state "Normal health after primary TKR," but it was not sensitive to utilities of other Markov states. Both probabilistic and deterministic analyses produced similar cumulative serious or minor complication rates and complex or simple revision rates. They also produced similar ICERs. Compared with conventional TKR, computer-assisted TKR is a cost-saving technology in the long-term and may offer small additional QALYs. The "effect of CAS" is to reduce revision rates and complications through more accurate and precise alignment, and although the conclusions from the model, even when allowing for a full probabilistic analysis of uncertainty, are clear, the "effect of CAS" on the rate of revisions awaits long-term clinical evidence.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Smart Grids Implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomsic, Z.; Pongrasic, M.

2014-01-01

Paper presents guidelines for conducting the cost-benefit analysis of Smart Grid projects connected to the implementation of advanced technologies in electric power system. Restrictions of presented electric power networks are also mentioned along with solutions that are offered by advanced electric power network. From an economic point of view, the main characteristic of advanced electric power network is big investment, and benefits are seen after some time with risk of being smaller than expected. Therefore it is important to make a comprehensive analysis of those projects which consist of economic and qualitative analysis. This report relies on EPRI methodology developed in American institute for energy. The methodology is comprehensive and useful, but also simple and easy to understand. Steps of this methodology and main characteristics of methodologies which refer to EPRI methodology: methodology developed in Joint Research Center and methodologies for analysing implementation of smart meters in electricity power network are explained. Costs, benefits and categories in which they can be classified are also defined. As a part of qualitative analysis, social aspect of Smart Grid projects is described. In cost defining, special attention has to be paid to projects of integrating electricity from variable renewable energy sources into the power system because of additional costs. This work summarized categories of additional costs. In the end of this report, an overview is given of what has been done and what will be done in European Union. (author).

Development of an integrated, in-situ remediation technology. Topical report for task No. 5: Cost analysis, September 26, 1994--May 25, 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quinton, G.; Schultz, D.; Landis, R.

1997-01-01

Contamination in low permeability soils poses a significant technical challenge to in situ remediation efforts. Poor accessibility to the contaminants and difficulty in delivering treatment reagents have rendered existing in situ treatments such as bioremediation, vapor extraction, pump and treat rather ineffective when applied to low permeability soils present at many contaminated sites. The Lasagna trademark technology is an integrated in situ treatment in which established geotechnical methods are used to install degradation zones directly into the contaminated soil and electro-osmosis if utilized to move the contaminants back and forth through those zones until the treatment is completed. This topical report presents the results of an engineering evaluation and cost analysis of the vertically configured treatment process completed by the DuPont Company. The cost evaluation was prepared by developing a cost optimization model of the overall treatment process. This model considers various input parameters such as soil properties, depth of contamination, cost for emplacing electrodes and treatment zones, required purge water volume, time constraints to achieve cleanup, and cost of power. Several example cases were run using the cost model to provide representative cost ranges for applying the technology to clean up trichloroethene contamination in clay. These costs are estimated to range from $40 to $95 per cubic yard of soil for a 1-acre site, with cost depending on depth of contamination (cost range valid from 15 to 45 ft), method of electrode/treatment zone emplacement (cost range valid from 15 to 45 ft), method of electrode/treatment zone emplacement (cost range valid for Lasagna trademark Phase I emplacement and optimized emplacement techniques), and time available to complete remediation (cost range valid for one- and three-year timeframe)

The role of technology in reducing health care costs. Final project report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sill, A.E.; Warren, S.; Dillinger, J.D.; Cloer, B.K.

1997-08-01

Sandia National Laboratories applied a systems approach to identifying innovative biomedical technologies with the potential to reduce U.S. health care delivery costs while maintaining care quality. This study was conducted by implementing both top-down and bottom-up strategies. The top-down approach used prosperity gaming methodology to identify future health care delivery needs. This effort provided roadmaps for the development and integration of technology to meet perceived care delivery requirements. The bottom-up approach identified and ranked interventional therapies employed in existing care delivery systems for a host of health-related conditions. Economic analysis formed the basis for development of care pathway interaction models for two of the most pervasive, chronic disease/disability conditions: coronary artery disease (CAD) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Societal cost-benefit relationships based on these analyses were used to evaluate the effect of emerging technology in these treatment areas. 17 figs., 48 tabs.

Life Cycle Analysis of Dedicated Nano-Launch Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Zapata, Edgar; McCleskey, Carey (Editor); Martin, John; Lepsch, Roger; Ternani, Tosoc

2014-01-01

Recent technology advancements have enabled the development of small cheap satellites that can perform useful functions in the space environment. Currently, the only low cost option for getting these payloads into orbit is through ride share programs - small satellites awaiting the launch of a larger satellite, and then riding along on the same launcher. As a result, these small satellite customers await primary payload launches and a backlog exists. An alternative option would be dedicated nano-launch systems built and operated to provide more flexible launch services, higher availability, and affordable prices. The potential customer base that would drive requirements or support a business case includes commercial, academia, civil government and defense. Further, NASA technology investments could enable these alternative game changing options. With this context, in 2013 the Game Changing Development (GCD) program funded a NASA team to investigate the feasibility of dedicated nano-satellite launch systems with a recurring cost of less than $2 million per launch for a 5 kg payload to low Earth orbit. The team products would include potential concepts, technologies and factors for enabling the ambitious cost goal, exploring the nature of the goal itself, and informing the GCD program technology investment decision making process. This paper provides an overview of the life cycle analysis effort that was conducted in 2013 by an inter-center NASA team. This effort included the development of reference nano-launch system concepts, developing analysis processes and models, establishing a basis for cost estimates (development, manufacturing and launch) suitable to the scale of the systems, and especially, understanding the relationship of potential game changing technologies to life cycle costs, as well as other factors, such as flights per year.

Parametric economic analysis of natural gas reburn technologies. Topical report, June 1991-June 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluestein, J.

1992-06-01

The report presents a parametric economic analysis of natural gas reburn technologies used for control of nitrogen oxides emissions in coal-fired utility boilers. It is a competitive assessment of the economics of gas reburn performed in the context of regulatory requirements and competing conventional technologies. The reburn technologies examined are basic gas reburn, reburn with sorbent injection and advanced gas reburn. The analysis determined the levelized costs of these technologies in $/ton of NOx removed with respect to a gas-coal price differential in $/MMBtu of energy input. For those niches in which reburn was less economical, a breakeven capital cost analysis was carried out to determine the R ampersand D goals which would make reburn more cost competitive

Solar thermal technology development: Estimated market size and energy cost savings. Volume 2: Assumptions, methodology and results

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, W. R.

1983-02-01

Estimated future energy cost savings associated with the development of cost-competitive solar thermal technologies (STT) are discussed. Analysis is restricted to STT in electric applications for 16 high-insolation/high-energy-price states. Three fuel price scenarios and three 1990 STT system costs are considered, reflecting uncertainty over future fuel prices and STT cost projections. Solar thermal technology research and development (R&D) is found to be unacceptably risky for private industry in the absence of federal support. Energy cost savings were projected to range from $0 to $10 billion (1990 values in 1981 dollars), depending on the system cost and fuel price scenario. Normal R&D investment risks are accentuated because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel can artificially manipulate oil prices and undercut growth of alternative energy sources. Federal participation in STT R&D to help capture the potential benefits of developing cost-competitive STT was found to be in the national interest. Analysis is also provided regarding two federal incentives currently in use: The Federal Business Energy Tax Credit and direct R&D funding.

Solar thermal technology development: Estimated market size and energy cost savings. Volume 2: Assumptions, methodology and results

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, W. R.

1983-01-01

Estimated future energy cost savings associated with the development of cost-competitive solar thermal technologies (STT) are discussed. Analysis is restricted to STT in electric applications for 16 high-insolation/high-energy-price states. Three fuel price scenarios and three 1990 STT system costs are considered, reflecting uncertainty over future fuel prices and STT cost projections. Solar thermal technology research and development (R&D) is found to be unacceptably risky for private industry in the absence of federal support. Energy cost savings were projected to range from $0 to $10 billion (1990 values in 1981 dollars), depending on the system cost and fuel price scenario. Normal R&D investment risks are accentuated because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel can artificially manipulate oil prices and undercut growth of alternative energy sources. Federal participation in STT R&D to help capture the potential benefits of developing cost-competitive STT was found to be in the national interest. Analysis is also provided regarding two federal incentives currently in use: The Federal Business Energy Tax Credit and direct R&D funding.

Complete daVinci versus laparoscopic pyeloplasty: cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhayani, Sam B; Link, Richard E; Varkarakis, John M; Kavoussi, Louis R

2005-04-01

Computer-assisted pyeloplasty with the daVinci system is an emerging technique to treat ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction. A relative cost analysis was performed assessing this technology in comparison with purely laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Eight patients underwent computer-assisted (daVinci) dismembered pyeloplasty (CP) via a transperitoneal four-port approach. They were compared with 13 patients who underwent purely laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP). All patients had a primary UPJ obstruction and were matched for age, sex, and body mass index. The cost of equipment and capital depreciation for both procedures, as well as assessment of room set-up time, takedown time, and personnel were analyzed. Surgeons and nursing staff for both groups were experienced in both laparoscopy and daVinci procedures. One- and two-way financial analysis was performed to assess relative costs. The mean set-up and takedown time was 71 minutes for CP and 49 minutes for LP. The mean length of stay was 2.3 days for CP and 2.5 days for LP. The mean operating room (OR) times for CP and LP were 176 and 210 minutes, respectively. There were no complications in either group. One-way cost analysis with an economic model showed that LP is more cost effective than CP at our hospital if LP OR time is cost effective as LP. Two-way sensitivity analysis shows that in-room time must still be 500 to obtain cost equivalence for CP. Perioperative parameters for CP are encouraging. However, the costs are a clear disadvantage. In our hospital, it is more cost effective to teach and perform LP than to perform CP.

The differential impact of low-carbon technologies on climate change mitigation cost under a range of socioeconomic and climate policy scenarios.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barron, Robert W.; McJeon, Haewon C.

2015-05-01

This paper considers the effect of several key parameters of low carbon energy technologies on the cost of abatement. A methodology for determining the minimum level of performance required for a parameter to have a statistically significant impact on CO2 abatement cost is developed and used to evaluate the impact of eight key parameters of low carbon energy supply technologies on the cost of CO2 abatement. The capital cost of nuclear technology is found to have the greatest impact of the parameters studied. The cost of biomass and CCS technologies also have impacts, while their efficiencies have little, if any. Sensitivity analysis of the results with respect to population, GDP, and CO2 emission constraint show that the minimum performance level and impact of nuclear technologies is consistent across the socioeconomic scenarios studied, while the other technology parameters show different performance under higher population, lower GDP scenarios. Solar technology was found to have a small impact, and then only at very low costs. These results indicate that the cost of nuclear is the single most important driver of abatement cost, and that trading efficiency for cost may make biomass and CCS technologies more competitive.

The relationship between cost estimates reliability and BIM adoption: SEM analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, N. A. A.; Idris, N. H.; Ramli, H.; Rooshdi, R. R. Raja Muhammad; Sahamir, S. R.

2018-02-01

This paper presents the usage of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach in analysing the effects of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology adoption in improving the reliability of cost estimates. Based on the questionnaire survey results, SEM analysis using SPSS-AMOS application examined the relationships between BIM-improved information and cost estimates reliability factors, leading to BIM technology adoption. Six hypotheses were established prior to SEM analysis employing two types of SEM models, namely the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) model and full structural model. The SEM models were then validated through the assessment on their uni-dimensionality, validity, reliability, and fitness index, in line with the hypotheses tested. The final SEM model fit measures are: P-value=0.000, RMSEA=0.0790.90, TLI=0.956>0.90, NFI=0.935>0.90 and ChiSq/df=2.259; indicating that the overall index values achieved the required level of model fitness. The model supports all the hypotheses evaluated, confirming that all relationship exists amongst the constructs are positive and significant. Ultimately, the analysis verified that most of the respondents foresee better understanding of project input information through BIM visualization, its reliable database and coordinated data, in developing more reliable cost estimates. They also perceive to accelerate their cost estimating task through BIM adoption.

CENET: Cost Efficiency in a New Era with new Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karlsen, Jan E.; Lund, Bjoernar; Bos, Christian F.M.; Stokka, Sigmund

1997-12-31

This report relates to the CENET (Cost Efficiency in a New Era with new Technology) project the oil and gas in Europe. Key objectives of the CENET project are to determine the role of RTD (Research and Technology Development) in European oil and gas industry towards improved value and cost reduction with a particular focus on the means of developing offshore European marginal fields commercially, to identify RTD areas with the largest potential for improved value and cost reduction and technological developments and advances which are likely to increase European competitiveness internationally, and to provide guidance to European governments when deciding RTD priorities. A new era with new technology concerns increased oil and gas potential during the next century, a new era with clean, safe and cost efficient energy production, a new era with a new business structure, and globalization of the industry. 44 tabs., 5 figs., 23 tabs.

Outline of cost-benefit analysis and a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Kellizy, A.

1978-01-01

The methodology of cost-benefit analysis is reviewed and a case study involving solar cell technology is presented. Emphasis is placed on simplifying the technique in order to permit a technical person not trained in economics to undertake a cost-benefit study comparing alternative approaches to a given problem. The role of economic analysis in management decision making is discussed. In simplifying the methodology it was necessary to restrict the scope and applicability of this report. Additional considerations and constraints are outlined. Examples are worked out to demonstrate the principles. A computer program which performs the computational aspects appears in the appendix.

Pipeline cost reduction through effective project management and applied technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jenkins, A. [TransCanada Pipeline Ltd., Alberta (Canada); Babuk, T. [Empress International Inc., Westwood, NJ (United States); Mohitpour, M. [Tempsys Pipeline Solutions Inc., Vancouver, BC (Canada); Murray, M.A. [National Energy Board of Canada (Canada)

2005-07-01

Pipelines are regarded by many as passive structures with the technology involved in their construction and operation being viewed as relatively simple and stable. If such is the case how can there be much room for cost improvement? In reality, there have been many technological and regulatory innovations required within the pipeline industry to meet the challenges posed by ever increasing consumer demand for hydrocarbons, the effects of aging infrastructure and a need to control operating and maintenance expenditures. The importance of technology management, as a subset of overall project management, is a key element of life cycle cost control. Assurance of public safety and the integrity of the system are other key elements in ensuring a successful pipeline project. The essentials of best practise project management from an owner/ operator's perspective are set out in the paper. Particular attention is paid to the appropriate introduction of new technology, strategic procurement practice and material selection, indicating that capital cost savings of up to 15% are achievable without harming life cycle cost. The value of partnering leading to technical innovation, cost savings and improved profitability for all the participants is described. Partnering also helps avoid duplicated effort through the use of common tools for design, planning schedule tracking and reporting. Investing in appropriate technology development has been a major source of cost reduction in recent years and the impact of a number of these recently introduced technologies in the areas of materials, construction processes and operation and maintenance are discussed in the paper. (author)

The Aviation System Analysis Capability Air Carrier Cost-Benefit Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gaier, Eric M.; Edlich, Alexander; Santmire, Tara S.; Wingrove, Earl R.., III

1999-01-01

To meet its objective of assisting the U.S. aviation industry with the technological challenges of the future, NASA must identify research areas that have the greatest potential for improving the operation of the air transportation system. Therefore, NASA is developing the ability to evaluate the potential impact of various advanced technologies. By thoroughly understanding the economic impact of advanced aviation technologies and by evaluating how the new technologies will be used in the integrated aviation system, NASA aims to balance its aeronautical research program and help speed the introduction of high-leverage technologies. To meet these objectives, NASA is building the Aviation System Analysis Capability (ASAC). NASA envisions ASAC primarily as a process for understanding and evaluating the impact of advanced aviation technologies on the U.S. economy. ASAC consists of a diverse collection of models and databases used by analysts and other individuals from the public and private sectors brought together to work on issues of common interest to organizations in the aviation community. ASAC also will be a resource available to the aviation community to analyze; inform; and assist scientists, engineers, analysts, and program managers in their daily work. The ASAC differs from previous NASA modeling efforts in that the economic behavior of buyers and sellers in the air transportation and aviation industries is central to its conception. Commercial air carriers, in particular, are an important stakeholder in this community. Therefore, to fully evaluate the implications of advanced aviation technologies, ASAC requires a flexible financial analysis tool that credibly links the technology of flight with the financial performance of commercial air carriers. By linking technical and financial information, NASA ensures that its technology programs will continue to benefit the user community. In addition, the analysis tool must be capable of being incorporated into the

The differential impact of low-carbon technologies on climate change mitigation cost under a range of socioeconomic and climate policy scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barron, Robert; McJeon, Haewon

2015-01-01

This paper considers the effect of several key parameters of low carbon energy technologies on the cost of abatement. A methodology for determining the minimum level of performance required for a parameter to have a statistically significant impact on CO 2 abatement cost is developed and used to evaluate the impact of eight key parameters of low carbon energy supply technologies on the cost of CO 2 abatement. The capital cost of nuclear technology is found to have the greatest impact of the parameters studied. The cost of biomass and CCS technologies also have impacts, while their efficiencies have little, if any. Sensitivity analysis of the results with respect to population, GDP, and CO 2 emission constraint show that the minimum performance level and impact of nuclear technologies is consistent across the socioeconomic scenarios studied, while the other technology parameters show different performance under higher population, lower GDP scenarios. Solar technology was found to have a small impact, and then only at very low costs. These results indicate that the cost of nuclear is the single most important driver of abatement cost, and that trading efficiency for cost may make biomass and CCS technologies more competitive. - Highlights: • The impact of low carbon energy technology on abatement cost is considered. • Nuclear has the largest impact among technologies considered. • Cost has higher impact than efficiency for biomass technologies. • Biomass technologies generally have larger impacts than carbon capture. • Biomass technologies are more valuable in low GDP, high population scenarios

Application of 'C.A.R.B. financial methodology' analysis for alternative energy technologies into UK housing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spanos, Ioannis; Duckers, Les; Holmes, Kenneth L.

2007-01-01

Current energy trends in UK housing are reviewed and then assessed by introducing the 'CARB financial analysis' methodology. CARB is an acronym for 'Carbon Abatement', as it evaluates the potential carbon-dioxide reduction from different technologies; 'Relative', as all the technologies examined are dependant on various primary sources; and 'Balance', as the cost of surplus CO 2 is quantified. According to conventional financial analysis, most of the technologies examined have the potential to provide positive returns on the investments especially for those with an environmentally conscious agenda. Further reduction of up to 30% of most installed alternative energy systems cost is required to compete with an investment in, e.g., a UK pension scheme. Using the 'CARB financial analysis' the cost of reducing CO 2 has been quantified, and compared with the potential cost of climate change impact. Conventional installed solar technologies are not financially attractive both with a pay back period calculations and 'CARB financial analysis' under current market costs and governmental subsidy regimes. Heat recovery technologies could be sensible investments, both in financial and environmental terms under particular assumptions; especially if the investment budget is small. The use of cogeneration technologies provides a financial advantage in the attempt to minimise the cost of climate change impact, as pay back period of such investment could be less than 7 yr, and the cost of CO 2 saved could be two to seven times less than the global damage cost of carbon emissions. (author)

Cost/benefit of high technology in diagnostic radiology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goethlin, J.H.

1987-08-01

High technology is frequently blamed as a main cause for the last decade's disproportionate rise in health expenditure. Total costs for all large diagnostic and therapeutic appliances are typically less than 1% of annual expenditure on health care. CT, DSA, MRI, interventional radiology, ESWL, US, mammography, computers in radiology and PACS may save 10-80% of total cost for diagnosis and treatment of disease. Expenditure on high technology is in general vastly overestimated. Because of its medical utility, a slower deployment cannot be desirable. (orig.)

Cost/benefit of high technology in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goethlin, J.H.

1987-01-01

High technology is frequently blamed as a main cause for the last decade's disproportionate rise in health expenditure. Total costs for all large diagnostic and therapeutic appliances are typically less than 1% of annual expenditure on health care. CT, DSA, MRI, interventional radiology, ESWL, US, mammography, computers in radiology and PACS may save 10-80% of total cost for diagnosis and treatment of disease. Expenditure on high technology is in general vastly overestimated. Because of its medical utility, a slower deployment cannot be desirable. (orig.)

Analysis of some potential social effects of four coal technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walker, C.A.; Gould, L.C.

1980-09-01

This is an analysis of the potential social impacts of four coal technologies: conventional combustion, fluidized-bed combustion, liquifaction, and gasification. Because of their flexibility, and the abundance and relatively low costs of coal, the potential benefits of these technologies would seem to outweigh their potential social costs, both in the intermediate and long term. Nevertheless, the social costs of a coal industry are far more obscure and hard to quantify than the benefits. In general, however, it maybe expected that those technologies that can be deployed most quickly, that provide fuels that can substitute most easily for oil and natural gas, that are the cheapest, and that are the most thermally efficient will minimize social costs most in the intermediate term, while technologies that can guide energy infrastructure changes to become the most compatable with the fuels that will be most easily derived from inexhaustible sources (electricity and hydrogen) will minimize social costs most in the long run. An industry structured to favor eastern over western coal and plant sites in moderate sized communities, which could easily adapt to inexhaustible energy technologies (nuclear or solar) in the future, would be favored in either time period.

Total life-cycle cost analysis of conventional and alternative fueled vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardullo, M.W.

1993-01-01

Total Life-Cycle Cost (TLCC) Analysis can indicate whether paying higher capital costs for advanced technology with low operating and/or environmental costs is advantageous over paying lower capital costs for conventional technology with higher operating and/or environmental costs. While minimizing total life-cycle cost is an important consideration, the consumer often identifies non-cost-related benefits or drawbacks that make more expensive options appear more attractive. The consumer is also likely to heavily weigh initial capital costs while giving limited consideration to operating and/or societal costs, whereas policy-makers considering external costs, such as those resulting from environmental impacts, may reach significantly different conclusions about which technologies are most advantageous to society. This paper summarizes a TLCC model which was developed to facilitate consideration of the various factors involved in both individual and societal policy decision making. The model was developed as part of a US Department of Energy Contract and has been revised to reflect changes necessary to make the model more realistic. The model considers capital, operating, salvage, and environmental costs for cars, vans, and buses using conventional and alternative fuels. The model has been developed to operate on an IBM or compatible personal computer platform using the commercial spreadsheet program MicroSoft Excell reg-sign Version 4 for Windows reg-sign and can be easily kept current because its modular structure allows straightforward access to embedded data sets for review and update

Lower cost air measurement technology – what is on the ...

Science.gov (United States)

This presentation is to the MARAMA 2014 annual monitoring meeting and is an invited talk to provide an overview on lower cost air measurement technology. This presentation is to the MARAMA 2014 annual monitoring meeting and is an invited talk to provide an overview on lower cost air measurement technology.

[Operating cost analysis of anaesthesia: activity based costing (ABC analysis)].

Science.gov (United States)

Majstorović, Branislava M; Kastratović, Dragana A; Vučović, Dragan S; Milaković, Branko D; Miličić, Biljana R

2011-01-01

Cost of anaesthesiology represent defined measures to determine a precise profile of expenditure estimation of surgical treatment, which is important regarding planning of healthcare activities, prices and budget. In order to determine the actual value of anaestesiological services, we started with the analysis of activity based costing (ABC) analysis. Retrospectively, in 2005 and 2006, we estimated the direct costs of anestesiological services (salaries, drugs, supplying materials and other: analyses and equipment.) of the Institute of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation of the Clinical Centre of Serbia. The group included all anesthetized patients of both sexes and all ages. We compared direct costs with direct expenditure, "each cost object (service or unit)" of the Republican Healthcare Insurance. The Summary data of the Departments of Anaesthesia documented in the database of the Clinical Centre of Serbia. Numerical data were utilized and the numerical data were estimated and analyzed by computer programs Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and SPSS for Windows. We compared using the linear model of direct costs and unit costs of anaesthesiological services from the Costs List of the Republican Healthcare Insurance. Direct costs showed 40% of costs were spent on salaries, (32% on drugs and supplies, and 28% on other costs, such as analyses and equipment. The correlation of the direct costs of anaestesiological services showed a linear correlation with the unit costs of the Republican Healthcare Insurance. During surgery, costs of anaesthesia would increase by 10% the surgical treatment cost of patients. Regarding the actual costs of drugs and supplies, we do not see any possibility of costs reduction. Fixed elements of direct costs provide the possibility of rationalization of resources in anaesthesia.

Innovation in Nuclear Technology for the Least Product Price and Cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffey, Romney

2003-01-01

In energy markets, costs dominate for all new technology introductions (pressure valves, gas turbines, reactors) both now and far into the future. Technology improves, and costs are reduced as markets are penetrated with the trend following a learning/experience curve (MCE) based on classic economic forces. The curve followed is governed by development costs and market targets, and nuclear systems follow such a curve in order to compete with other technologies and projected future cost for alternate energy initiatives. Funding impacts directly on market penetration and on the ''learning rate.'' The CANDU/AECL development path (experience curve) is a chosen balance between evolution and revolution for a competitive advantage

Risk-based systems analysis for emerging technologies: Applications of a technology risk assessment model to public decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quadrel, M.J.; Fowler, K.M.; Cameron, R.; Treat, R.J.; McCormack, W.D.; Cruse, J.

1995-01-01

The risk-based systems analysis model was designed to establish funding priorities among competing technologies for tank waste remediation. The model addresses a gap in the Department of Energy's (DOE's) ''toolkit'' for establishing funding priorities among emerging technologies by providing disciplined risk and cost assessments of candidate technologies within the context of a complete remediation system. The model is comprised of a risk and cost assessment and a decision interface. The former assesses the potential reductions in risk and cost offered by new technology relative to the baseline risk and cost of an entire system. The latter places this critical information in context of other values articulated by decision makers and stakeholders in the DOE system. The risk assessment portion of the model is demonstrated for two candidate technologies for tank waste retrieval (arm-based mechanical retrieval -- the ''long reach arm'') and subsurface barriers (close-coupled chemical barriers). Relative changes from the base case in cost and risk are presented for these two technologies to illustrate how the model works. The model and associated software build on previous work performed for DOE's Office of Technology Development and the former Underground Storage Tank Integrated Demonstration, and complement a decision making tool presented at Waste Management 1994 for integrating technical judgements and non-technical (stakeholder) values when making technology funding decisions

Second NASA Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM): Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS) Technology Tool Box (TTB)

Science.gov (United States)

ONeil, D. A.; Mankins, J. C.; Christensen, C. B.; Gresham, E. C.

2005-01-01

The Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS), a spreadsheet analysis tool suite, applies parametric equations for sizing and lifecycle cost estimation. Performance, operation, and programmatic data used by the equations come from a Technology Tool Box (TTB) database. In this second TTB Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM), technologists, system model developers, and architecture analysts discussed methods for modeling technology decisions in spreadsheet models, identified specific technology parameters, and defined detailed development requirements. This Conference Publication captures the consensus of the discussions and provides narrative explanations of the tool suite, the database, and applications of ATLAS within NASA s changing environment.

Minimizing the cost of subsea developments through technological innovation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyre, G.; Loth, B.

1994-01-01

The paper summarizes the results of an extensive study carried out for the UK Government. This assessed the cost and economic impact of technological innovation on subsea and floating developments in the UKCS. The study covered, innovations that could be applied to subsea developments to significantly reduce cost, including multiwell completions, composite pipelines, compartmented pipelines, pipeline specification breaking and autonomous control systems. Cost and economic models were used to assess the economic impact of technological innovation on marginal field developments. The results of these assessments were drawn up as a series of ranking lists designed to assist manufacturers and suppliers in establishing priorities for research and development funding. The study also explored the potential UKCS and World market for innovative subsea technologies and quantified the research and development required to bring key innovations into commercial use

[Bayesian approach for the cost-effectiveness evaluation of healthcare technologies].

Science.gov (United States)

Berchialla, Paola; Gregori, Dario; Brunello, Franco; Veltri, Andrea; Petrinco, Michele; Pagano, Eva

2009-01-01

The development of Bayesian statistical methods for the assessment of the cost-effectiveness of health care technologies is reviewed. Although many studies adopt a frequentist approach, several authors have advocated the use of Bayesian methods in health economics. Emphasis has been placed on the advantages of the Bayesian approach, which include: (i) the ability to make more intuitive and meaningful inferences; (ii) the ability to tackle complex problems, such as allowing for the inclusion of patients who generate no cost, thanks to the availability of powerful computational algorithms; (iii) the importance of a full use of quantitative and structural prior information to produce realistic inferences. Much literature comparing the cost-effectiveness of two treatments is based on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. However, new methods are arising with the purpose of decision making. These methods are based on a net benefits approach. In the present context, the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves have been pointed out to be intrinsically Bayesian in their formulation. They plot the probability of a positive net benefit against the threshold cost of a unit increase in efficacy.A case study is presented in order to illustrate the Bayesian statistics in the cost-effectiveness analysis. Emphasis is placed on the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Advantages and disadvantages of the method described in this paper have been compared to frequentist methods and discussed.

Nuclear reactors' construction costs: The role of lead-time, standardization and technological progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berthelemy, Michel; Escobar Rangel, Lina

2013-01-01

This paper provides the first comparative analysis of nuclear reactor construction costs in France and the United States. Studying the cost of nuclear power has often been a challenge, owing to the lack of reliable data sources and heterogeneity between countries, as well as the long time horizon which requires controlling for input prices and structural changes. We build a simultaneous system of equations for overnight costs and construction time (lead-time) to control for endogeneity, using expected demand variation as an instrument. We argue that benefits from nuclear reactor program standardization can arise through short term coordination gains, when the diversity of nuclear reactors' technologies under construction is low, or through long term benefits from learning spillovers from past reactor construction experience, if those spillovers are limited to similar reactors. We find that overnight construction costs benefit directly from learning spillovers but that these spillovers are only significant for nuclear models built by the same Architect-Engineer (A- E). In addition, we show that the standardization of nuclear reactors under construction has an indirect and positive effect on construction costs through a reduction in lead-time, the latter being one of the main drivers of construction costs. Conversely, we also explore the possibility of learning by searching and find that, contrary to other energy technologies, innovation leads to construction costs increases. (authors)

A cost-effectiveness analysis of two different antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Okumura, Lucas Miyake; Riveros, Bruno Salgado; Gomes-da-Silva, Monica Maria; Veroneze, Izelandia

2016-01-01

There is a lack of formal economic analysis to assess the efficiency of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Herein, we conducted a cost-effectiveness study to assess two different strategies of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. A 30-day Markov model was developed to analyze how cost-effective was a Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship implemented in a university hospital in Brazil. Clinical data derived from a historical cohort that compared two different strategies of antimicrobial stewardship programs and had 30-day mortality as main outcome. Selected costs included: workload, cost of defined daily doses, length of stay, laboratory and imaging resources used to diagnose infections. Data were analyzed by deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to assess model's robustness, tornado diagram and Cost-Effectiveness Acceptability Curve. Bundled Strategy was more expensive (Cost difference US$ 2119.70), however, it was more efficient (US$ 27,549.15 vs 29,011.46). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested that critical variables did not alter final Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio. Bundled Strategy had higher probabilities of being cost-effective, which was endorsed by cost-effectiveness acceptability curve. As health systems claim for efficient technologies, this study conclude that Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship Program was more cost-effective, which means that stewardship strategies with such characteristics would be of special interest in a societal and clinical perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of two different antimicrobial stewardship programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucas Miyake Okumura

2016-05-01

Full Text Available There is a lack of formal economic analysis to assess the efficiency of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Herein, we conducted a cost-effectiveness study to assess two different strategies of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. A 30-day Markov model was developed to analyze how cost-effective was a Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship implemented in a university hospital in Brazil. Clinical data derived from a historical cohort that compared two different strategies of antimicrobial stewardship programs and had 30-day mortality as main outcome. Selected costs included: workload, cost of defined daily doses, length of stay, laboratory and imaging resources used to diagnose infections. Data were analyzed by deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to assess model's robustness, tornado diagram and Cost-Effectiveness Acceptability Curve. Bundled Strategy was more expensive (Cost difference US$ 2119.70, however, it was more efficient (US$ 27,549.15 vs 29,011.46. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested that critical variables did not alter final Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio. Bundled Strategy had higher probabilities of being cost-effective, which was endorsed by cost-effectiveness acceptability curve. As health systems claim for efficient technologies, this study conclude that Bundled Antimicrobial Stewardship Program was more cost-effective, which means that stewardship strategies with such characteristics would be of special interest in a societal and clinical perspective.

Transportation Energy Futures Series. Non-Cost Barriers to Consumer Adoption of New Light-Duty Vehicle Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stephens, Thomas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2013-03-01

Consumer preferences are key to the adoption of new vehicle technologies. Barriers to consumer adoption include price and other obstacles, such as limited driving range and charging infrastructure; unfamiliarity with the technology and uncertainty about direct benefits; limited makes and models with the technology; reputation or perception of the technology; standardization issues; and regulations. For each of these non-cost barriers, this report estimates an effective cost and summarizes underlying influences on consumer preferences, approximate magnitude and relative severity, and assesses potential actions, based on a comprehensive literature review. While the report concludes that non-cost barriers are significant, effective cost and potential market share are very uncertain. Policies and programs including opportunities for drivers to test drive advanced vehicles, general public outreach and information programs, incentives for providing charging and fueling infrastructure, and development of technology standards were examined for their ability to address barriers, but little quantitative data exists on the effectiveness of these measures. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation. View all reports on the TEF Web page, http://www.eere.energy.gov/analysis/transportationenergyfutures/index.html.

Cost and effectiveness analysis on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) use at border security

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Bahadır.

2013-06-01

Drones and Remotely Piloted Vehicles are types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. UAVs began to be used with the war of Vietnam, they had a great interest when Israel used them in Bekaa Valley Operations of 1982. UAVs have been used by different countries with different aims with the help of emerging technology and investments. In this article, in the context of areas of UAV usage in national security, benefits and disadvantages of UAVs are put forward. Particularly, it has been evaluated on the basis of cost-effectiveness by focusing the use of UAV in the border security. UAVs have been studied by taking cost analysis, procurement and operational costs into consideration. Analysis of effectiveness has been done with illegal passages of people and drugs from flight times of UAVs. Although the procurement cost of the medium-level UAVs is low, its operational costs are high. For this reason, the idea of less costly alternative systems have been revealed for the border security. As the costs are reduced to acceptable level involving national security and border security in future with high-technology products in their structure, it will continue to be used in an increasing proportion.

Sliver Solar Cells: High-Efficiency, Low-Cost PV Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evan Franklin

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Sliver cells are thin, single-crystal silicon solar cells fabricated using standard fabrication technology. Sliver modules, composed of several thousand individual Sliver cells, can be efficient, low-cost, bifacial, transparent, flexible, shadow tolerant, and lightweight. Compared with current PV technology, mature Sliver technology will need 10% of the pure silicon and fewer than 5% of the wafer starts per MW of factory output. This paper deals with two distinct challenges related to Sliver cell and Sliver module production: providing a mature and robust Sliver cell fabrication method which produces a high yield of highly efficient Sliver cells, and which is suitable for transfer to industry; and, handling, electrically interconnecting, and encapsulating billions of sliver cells at low cost. Sliver cells with efficiencies of 20% have been fabricated at ANU using a reliable, optimised processing sequence, while low-cost encapsulation methods have been demonstrated using a submodule technique.

Transaction costs and technological development: The case of the Danish fruit and vegetable industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foss, Kirsten

1996-01-01

It is argued that technological change can be understood in terms of attempts to reduce transaction costs as well as production costs. Two types of paths of technological development are identified: a production cost minimizing path, and a transac cost minimizing path. The creation of new...... technological opportunites underlying the path of production-cost.minimizing depends on the emergence of problems of optimizing the performance of products and processing technology. The exploitation of su opportunities may easily be interpreted within a production perspective since the economic consequences...... would be reduced production costs. The creation of new technological opportunities within the transaction-costs-minimizing path depends on th continual emergence of problems related to the control of variablility in product quality or performance. The economic consequence from exploiting...

Interim monitoring of cost dynamics for publicly supported energy technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nemet, Gregory F. [La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin, 1225 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)]|[Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53726 (United States)

2009-03-15

The combination of substantial public funding of nascent energy technologies and recent increases in the costs of those that have been most heavily supported has raised questions about whether policy makers should sustain, alter, enhance, or terminate such programs. This paper uses experience curves for photovoltaics (PV) and wind to (1) estimate ranges of costs for these public programs and (2) introduce new ways of evaluating recent cost dynamics. For both technology cases, the estimated costs of the subsidies required to reach targets are sensitive to the choice of time period on which cost projections are based. The variation in the discounted social cost of subsidies exceeds an order of magnitude. Vigilance is required to avoid the very expensive outcomes contained within these distributions of social costs. Two measures of the significance of recent deviations are introduced. Both indicate that wind costs are within the expected range of prior forecasts but that PV costs are not. The magnitude of the public funds involved in these programs heightens the need for better analytical tools with which to monitor and evaluate cost dynamics. (author)

Life Cycle Assessment and Cost Analysis of Water and ...

Science.gov (United States)

changes in drinking and wastewater infrastructure need to incorporate a holistic view of the water service sustainability tradeoffs and potential benefits when considering shifts towards new treatment technology, decentralized systems, energy recovery and reuse of treated wastewater. The main goal of this study is to determine the influence of scale on the energy and cost performance of different transitional membrane bioreactors (MBR) in decentralized wastewater treatment (WWT) systems by performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost analysis. LCA is a tool used to quantify sustainability-related metrics from a systems perspective. The study calculates the environmental and cost profiles of both aerobic MBRs (AeMBR) and anaerobic MBRs (AnMBR), which not only recover energy from waste, but also produce recycled water that can displace potable water for uses such as irrigation and toilet flushing. MBRs represent an intriguing technology to provide decentralized WWT services while maximizing resource recovery. A number of scenarios for these WWT technologies are investigated for different scale systems serving various population density and land area combinations to explore the ideal application potentials. MBR systems are examined from 0.05 million gallons per day (MGD) to 10 MGD and serve land use types from high density urban (100,000 people per square mile) to semi-rural single family (2,000 people per square mile). The LCA and cost model was built with ex

Analysis of public costs and risks in the Canadian nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cantor, R.A.

1985-01-01

This dissertation evaluates selected aspects of the Canadian nuclear program in terms of their contribution to economic welfare. It concentrates on the diffusion of nuclear power in Canada, and measures the welfare implications within an ex post benefit-cost framework of the current generation of operating plants. This approach differs most significantly from prior research by focusing on the investment of public resources to pursue the management of the technological change and the importance of specific areas of uncertainty associated with the use of the technology. These areas of uncertainty are important for the understanding of policy actions which have altered the distribution of costs and risks in the industry, and would affect the relevance of the policies in another economic environment. The results of the benefit-cost analysis indicate that while the program has produced some possible regulatory outcomes, the social opportunity costs of the public investment have not been balanced by social benefits in the form of lower energy costs. Even under the most favorable assumptions used regarding the nuclear plants, the net social costs of the program are shown to be $10 billion in constant 1978 dollars and it is unlikely that the net benefits that have not been included in the analysis will yield a positive social gain in a welfare sense

Demand Response Advanced Controls Framework and Assessment of Enabling Technology Costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potter, Jennifer; Cappers, Peter

2017-08-28

The Demand Response Advanced Controls Framework and Assessment of Enabling Technology Costs research describe a variety of DR opportunities and the various bulk power system services they can provide. The bulk power system services are mapped to a generalized taxonomy of DR “service types”, which allows us to discuss DR opportunities and bulk power system services in fewer yet broader categories that share similar technological requirements which mainly drive DR enablement costs. The research presents a framework for the costs to automate DR and provides descriptions of the various elements that drive enablement costs. The report introduces the various DR enabling technologies and end-uses, identifies the various services that each can provide to the grid and provides the cost assessment for each enabling technology. In addition to a report, this research includes a Demand Response Advanced Controls Database and User Manual. They are intended to provide users with the data that underlies this research and instructions for how to use that database more effectively and efficiently.

Innovative High-Performance Deposition Technology for Low-Cost Manufacturing of OLED Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott, David; Hamer, John

2017-06-30

In this project, OLEDWorks developed and demonstrated the innovative high-performance deposition technology required to deliver dramatic reductions in the cost of manufacturing OLED lighting in production equipment. The current high manufacturing cost of OLED lighting is the most urgent barrier to its market acceptance. The new deposition technology delivers solutions to the two largest parts of the manufacturing cost problem – the expense per area of good product for organic materials and for the capital cost and depreciation of the equipment. Organic materials cost is the largest expense item in the bill of materials and is predicted to remain so through 2020. The high-performance deposition technology developed in this project, also known as the next generation source (NGS), increases material usage efficiency from 25% found in current Gen2 deposition technology to 60%. This improvement alone results in a reduction of approximately $25/m2 of good product in organic materials costs, independent of production volumes. Additionally, this innovative deposition technology reduces the total depreciation cost from the estimated value of approximately $780/m2 of good product for state-of-the-art G2 lines (at capacity, 5-year straight line depreciation) to $170/m2 of good product from the OLEDWorks production line.

Drilling cost analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anand, A.B.

1992-01-01

Drilling assumes greater importance in present day uranium exploration which emphasizes to explore more areas on the basis of conceptual model than merely on surface anomalies. But drilling is as costly as it is important and consumes a major share (50% to 60%) of the exploration budget. As such the cost of drilling has great bearing on the exploration strategy as well as on the overall cost of the project. Therefore, understanding the cost analysis is very much important when planning or intensifying an exploration programme. This not only helps in controlling the current operations but also in planning the budgetary provisions for future operations. Also, if the work is entrusted to a private party, knowledge of in-house cost analysis helps in fixing the rates of drilling in different formations and areas to be drilled. Under this topic, various factors that contribute to the cost of drilling per meter as well as ways to minimize the drilling cost for better economic evaluation of mineral deposits are discussed. (author)

Value analysis for advanced technology products

Science.gov (United States)

Soulliere, Mark

2011-03-01

Technology by itself can be wondrous, but buyers of technology factor in the price they have to pay along with performance in their decisions. As a result, the ``best'' technology may not always win in the marketplace when ``good enough'' can be had at a lower price. Technology vendors often set pricing by ``cost plus margin,'' or by competitors' offerings. What if the product is new (or has yet to be invented)? Value pricing is a methodology to price products based on the value generated (e.g. money saved) by using one product vs. the next best technical alternative. Value analysis can often clarify what product attributes generate the most value. It can also assist in identifying market forces outside of the control of the technology vendor that also influence pricing. These principles are illustrated with examples.

Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle

2010-01-01

The future use of Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) analysis is discussed in this paper. A more complete analysis including not only the traditional factors and user costs, but also factors which are difficult to include in the analysis is needed in the future.......The future use of Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) analysis is discussed in this paper. A more complete analysis including not only the traditional factors and user costs, but also factors which are difficult to include in the analysis is needed in the future....

Leveraging Technology to Reduce Patient Transaction Costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Edlow, Richard C

2015-01-01

Medical practices are under significant pressure to provide superior customer service in an environment of declining or flat reimbursement. The solution for many practices involves the integration of a variety of third-party technologies that conveniently interface with one's electronic practice management and medical records systems. Typically, the applications allow the practice to reduce the cost of each patient interaction. Drilling down to quantify the cost of each individual patient interaction helps to determine the practicality of implementation.

Green technologies for the use of urban wastewater: economic analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Horacio Alfredo Gil

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Urban sewage is one of the biggest polluters of water resources. For treatment, the usual conventional technologies (CT are based on civil and hydraulic engineering; more recently, green technologies (GT based on biology and ecology began to be developed. The aim of this study was to assess the economic aspects of these technologies using cost-benefit analysis. The economic benefits are derived from the sale of forest products and the environmental benefits of water decontamination, valued by the avoided cost method. The results of the study establish that GT have better commercial and economic performance than CT, and that the inclusion of environmental benefit significantly improves the results.

Is Myomectomy Prior to Assisted Reproductive Technology Cost Effective in Women with Intramural Fibroids?

Science.gov (United States)

Ojo-Carons, Mary; Mumford, Sunni L; Armstrong, Alicia Y; DeCherney, Alan H; Devine, Kate

2016-01-01

To evaluate the cost effectiveness of surgery to remove intramural (IM) fibroids prior to assisted reproductive technology (ART). The decision tree mathematical model along with sensitivity analysis was performed to analyze cost effectiveness of: (1) myomectomy followed by ART or (2) ART with IM myoma(s) in situ. At the median ongoing pregnancy (OP) rate (OPR) reported in the literature for a fresh, autologous ART cycle with IM fibroids in situ vs. post-IM myomectomy, average cost per OP was $72,355 vs. 66,075, indicating a cost savings with myomectomy. Sensitivity analysis over the range of reported OPRs demonstrated that pre-ART IM myomectomy was always cost effective when OPR among women with in situ myomas was ART IM myomectomy was only cost effective if it increased OPR by at least 9.6%. At the high end of OPRs reported for patients with IM myomas in situ (31.4%), a 19.5% improvement in OPR was needed to justify IM myomectomy from a cost perspective. Myomectomy should be used sparingly in cases where the goal of surgery is to achieve improvement in the outcomes of ART. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The cost of radiotherapy in a decade of technology evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van de Werf, Evelyn; Verstraete, Jan; Lievens, Yolande

2012-01-01

Purpose: To quantify changes in radiotherapy costs occurring in a decade of medical–technological evolution. Materials and methods: The activity-based costing (ABC) model of University Hospitals Leuven (UHL) radiotherapy (RT) department was adapted to current RT standards. It allocated actual resource costs to the treatments based on the departmental work-flow and patient mix in 2009. A benchmark with the former model analyzed the cost increases related to changes in RT infrastructure and practice over 10 years. Results: A considerable increase in total RT costs was observed, resulting from higher capital investments (96%) and personnel cost (103%), the latter dominating the total picture. Treatment delivery remains the most costly activity, boosted by the cost of improved quality assurance (QA), 23% of total product costs, coming along with more advanced RT techniques. Hence, cost increases at the product level are most obvious for complex treatments, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), representing cost increases ranging between 38% and 88% compared to conformal approaches. Conclusions: The ABC model provides insight into the financial consequences of evolving technology and practice. Such data are a mandatory first step in our strive to prove RT cost-effectiveness and thus support optimal reimbursement and provision of radiotherapy departments.

Cost-effective FITL technologies for small business and residential customers

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Niels E.; Woolnough, Peter; Seidenberg, Juergen; Ferreira, Mario F. S.

1995-02-01

FIRST is a RACE project where 5 main European telecoms operators, 4 equipment manufacturers and one university have joined up to define and test in a field trial in Portugal a cost effective Optical Access Network. The main design target has been a system which gives cost effective provision of wideband services for small and medium business customers. The system however, incorporates provision of telephone, ISDN and analog and digital video for residential customers as well. Technologies have been chosen with the objective of providing a simple, robust and flexible system where initial deployment costs are low and closely related to the service take up. The paper describes the main technical features of the system and network applications which shows how the system may be introduced in network planning. The system is based on Passive Optical Network technology where video is distributed in the 1550 nm window and telecoms services transmitted at 1300 nm in full duplex mode. The telecoms system provides high capacity, flexibility in loop length and robustness towards outside plant performance. The Subcarrier Multiple Access (SCMA) method is used for upstream transmission of bi-directional telecoms services. SCMA has advantages compared to the Time Division Multiple Access technology used in other systems. Bandwidth/cost tradeoff is better and the lower requirements to the outside plant increases the overall cost benefit. Optical beat noise due to overlapping of laser spectra which may be a problem for this technology has been addressed with success through the use of a suitable modulation and control technique. This technology is further validated in the field trial. The video system provides cost effective long distance transmission on standard fiber with externally modulated lasers and cascaded amplifiers. Coexistence of analog and digital video on one fiber with different modulation schemes i.e. BPSK, QPSK and 64 QAM have been validated. Total life cycle cost

RE-COST: Cost and Business Comparisons of Renewable vs. Non-renewable Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mostajo Veiga, Mercedes; Farina Alvarez, Pablo; Fernandez-Montes Moraleda, Manuel; Kleinsorge, Anne

2012-07-15

Based on real plant data, the RE-COST project concludes that in many OECD energy markets, new renewable energy technologies (RET) are close to be competitive with non-RET electricity plants. RET costs are decreasing rapidly, while conventional power plants are affected by lower utilisation rates, volatile coal and gas prices, CO2 pricing, and lower electricity demand than expected. If energy prices would account for air pollution and climate change, renewables would already be the most beneficial for society and business.

Nuclear enterprises at the Institute for Energy Technology - IFE. A socio-economic cost/benefit analysis; Nukleaere virksomheter ved Institutt for energiteknikk - IFE. En samfunnsoekonomisk kost/nytte-analyse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2008-03-15

A cost-benefit analysis concerning the research reactors JEEP II at Kjeller and the Halden Reactor in Halden, operated by the Institute for Energy Technology. It is concluded for both of the reactors that the benefits of continued operations are outweigh the cost. Financing, accident risk, waste management and nuclear competence are some of the aspects treated. The Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry initiated the evaluation on behalf of the Norwegian Government

Life support technology investment strategies for flight programs: An application of decision analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Schlater, Nelson J.; Simonds, Charles H.; Ballin, Mark G.

1993-01-01

Applied research and technology development (R&TD) is often characterized by uncertainty, risk, and significant delays before tangible returns are obtained. Given the increased awareness of limitations in resources, effective R&TD today needs a method for up-front assessment of competing technologies to help guide technology investment decisions. Such an assessment approach must account for uncertainties in system performance parameters, mission requirements and architectures, and internal and external events influencing a development program. The methodology known as decision analysis has the potential to address these issues. It was evaluated by performing a case study assessment of alternative carbon dioxide removal technologies for NASA's proposed First Lunar Outpost program. An approach was developed that accounts for the uncertainties in each technology's cost and performance parameters as well as programmatic uncertainties such as mission architecture. Life cycle cost savings relative to a baseline, adjusted for the cost of money, was used as a figure of merit to evaluate each of the alternative carbon dioxide removal technology candidates. The methodology was found to provide a consistent decision-making strategy for development of new life support technology. The case study results provided insight that was not possible from more traditional analysis approaches.

Cost-estimate guidelines for advanced nuclear power technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delene, J.G.; Hudson, C.R.

1993-01-01

Various advanced power plant concepts are currently under development. These include several advanced light water reactors as well as the modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and the advanced liquid-metal reactor. One measure-of the attractiveness of a new concept is cost. Invariably, the cost of a new type of power plant will be compared with other alternative forms of electric generation. In order to make reasonable comparative assessments of competing technologies, consistent ground rules and assumptions must be applied when developing cost estimates. This paper describes the cost-estimate guidelines developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to be used in developing cost estimates for the advanced nuclear reactors and how these guidelines relate to the DOE cost verification process

Gastric adenocarcinoma screening and prevention in the era of new biomarker and endoscopic technologies: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Jennifer M; Hur, Chin; Ward, Zachary; Schrag, Deborah; Goldie, Sue J

2016-04-01

To estimate the cost-effectiveness of noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma (NCGA) screening strategies based on new biomarker and endoscopic technologies. Using an intestinal-type NCGA microsimulation model, we evaluated the following one-time screening strategies for US men: (1) serum pepsinogen to detect gastric atrophy (with endoscopic follow-up of positive screen results), (2) endoscopic screening to detect dysplasia and asymptomatic cancer (with endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) treatment for detected lesions) and (3) Helicobacter pylori screening and treatment. Screening performance, treatment effectiveness, cancer and cost data were based on published literature and databases. Subgroups included current, former and never smokers. Outcomes included lifetime cancer risk and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), expressed as cost per quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) gained. Screening the general population at age 50 years reduced the lifetime intestinal-type NCGA risk (0.24%) by 26.4% with serum pepsinogen screening, 21.2% with endoscopy and EMR and 0.2% with H. pylori screening/treatment. Targeting current smokers reduced the lifetime risk (0.35%) by 30.8%, 25.5%, and 0.1%, respectively. For all subgroups, serum pepsinogen screening was more effective and more cost-effective than all other strategies, although its ICER varied from $76,000/QALY (current smokers) to $105,400/QALY (general population). Results were sensitive to H. pylori prevalence, screen age and serum pepsinogen test sensitivity. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis found that at a $100,000/QALY willingness-to-pay threshold, the probability that serum pepsinogen screening was preferred was 0.97 for current smokers. Although not warranted for the general population, targeting high-risk smokers for serum pepsinogen screening may be a cost-effective strategy to reduce intestinal-type NCGA mortality. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already

Technology, safety and costs of decommissioning reference light water reactors following postulated accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konzek, G.J.; Smith, R.I.

1990-12-01

The estimated costs for post-accident cleanup at the reference BWR (developed previously in NUREG/CR-2601, Technology, Safety and Costs of Decommissioning Reference Light Water Reactors Following Postulated Accidents) are updated to January 1989 dollars in this report. A simple formula for escalating post-accident cleanup costs is also presented. Accident cleanup following the most severe accident described in NUREG/CR-2601 (i.e., the Scenario 3 accident) is estimated to cost from $1.22 to 1.44 billion, in 1989 dollars, for assumed escalation rates of 4% or 8% in the years following 1989. The time to accomplish cleanup remained unchanged from the 8.3 years originally estimated. No reanalysis of current information on the technical aspects of TMI-2 cleanup has been performed. Only the cost of inflation has been evaluated since the original PNL analysis was completed. 32 refs., 12 tabs

Nuclear reactors' construction costs: The role of lead-time, standardization and technological progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berthélemy, Michel; Escobar Rangel, Lina

2015-01-01

This paper provides an econometric analysis of nuclear reactor construction costs in France and the United States based on overnight costs data. We build a simultaneous system of equations for overnight costs and construction time (lead-time) to control for endogeneity, using change in expected electricity demand as instrument. We argue that the construction of nuclear reactors can benefit from standardization gains through two channels. First, short term coordination benefits can arise when the diversity of nuclear reactors' designs under construction is low. Second, long term benefits can occur due to learning spillovers from past constructions of similar reactors. We find that construction costs benefit directly from learning spillovers but that these spillovers are only significant for nuclear models built by the same Architect–Engineer. In addition, we show that the standardization of nuclear reactors under construction has an indirect and positive effect on construction costs through a reduction in lead-time, the latter being one of the main drivers of construction costs. Conversely, we also explore the possibility of learning by searching and find that, contrary to other energy technologies, innovation leads to construction costs increases. -- Highlights: •This paper analyses the determinants of nuclear reactors construction costs and lead-time. •We study short term (coordination gains) and long term (learning by doing) benefits of standardization in France and the US. •Results show that standardization of nuclear programs is a key factor for reducing construction costs. •We also suggest that technological progress has contributed to construction costs escalation

Manufacturing Cost Analysis for YSZ-Based FlexCells at Pilot and Full Scale Production Scales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott Swartz; Lora Thrun; Robin Kimbrell; Kellie Chenault

2011-05-01

Significant reductions in cell costs must be achieved in order to realize the full commercial potential of megawatt-scale SOFC power systems. The FlexCell designed by NexTech Materials is a scalable SOFC technology that offers particular advantages over competitive technologies. In this updated topical report, NexTech analyzes its FlexCell design and fabrication process to establish manufacturing costs at both pilot scale (10 MW/year) and full-scale (250 MW/year) production levels and benchmarks this against estimated anode supported cell costs at the 250 MW scale. This analysis will show that even with conservative assumptions for yield, materials usage, and cell power density, a cost of $35 per kilowatt can be achieved at high volume. Through advancements in cell size and membrane thickness, NexTech has identified paths for achieving cell manufacturing costs as low as $27 per kilowatt for its FlexCell technology. Also in this report, NexTech analyzes the impact of raw material costs on cell cost, showing the significant increases that result if target raw material costs cannot be achieved at this volume.

Integrating Efficiency of Industry Processes and Practices Alongside Technology Effectiveness in Space Transportation Cost Modeling and Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zapata, Edgar

2012-01-01

This paper presents past and current work in dealing with indirect industry and NASA costs when providing cost estimation or analysis for NASA projects and programs. Indirect costs, when defined as those costs in a project removed from the actual hardware or software hands-on labor; makes up most of the costs of today's complex large scale NASA space/industry projects. This appears to be the case across phases from research into development into production and into the operation of the system. Space transportation is the case of interest here. Modeling and cost estimation as a process rather than a product will be emphasized. Analysis as a series of belief systems in play among decision makers and decision factors will also be emphasized to provide context.

Analysis of alternative technologies stamping compressor blades of marine engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Олександр Сергійович Аніщенко

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The author has made an analysis of several technologies stamping forgings compressor blades from titanium alloy ВT3-1. These technologies use different types of forming equipment: crank hot press, high-speed hammers, screw presses with hydraulic drive (SPHD, as well as isothermal forging hydraulic press. He pointed out the main advantages and disadvantages of the technology, noting that high-speed punching in the shipbuilding industry of Ukraine is not used for the manufacture of forgings blades. The article contains an economic analysis of the cost of forgings blades, which are made on four technologies: punching and calibration to crank hot press, stamping and calibration to press for isothermal forging, stamping and calibration on SPHD-press, stamping on SPHD-press and calibration to press for isothermal forging. The author has identified the effective use of these technologies. He showed that the use of SPHD-presses and hydraulic presses for isothermal forging reduces the cost of forging on the average 12% in comparison with the technology at the crank hot stamping press, increases the utilization of metal 1,3-1,5 times more, reduces power consumption 1,05-3,0 times less and complexity of manufacturing 1,8-4,2 times. However SPHD-press increases capital investment in the organization of stamping technology 2,6-5,3 times more and depreciation 2-4 times. Isothermal forging technology requires the cost of the stamps in 1,4-2,0 times higher than stamps for crank presses. The author argues that stamping forging blades technology improvement should be implemented saving basic materials first of all. Efficiency of isothermal stamping and calibration will be the higher, the more geometric dimensions of stamped forgings are

Towards a questionnaire for measuring affective benefits and costs of communication technologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Markopoulos, P.; Yarosh, S.; Abowd, G.

2014-01-01

As CSCW creates and investigates technologies for social communication, it is important to understand the emotional benefits and costs of these systems. We propose the Affec-tive Benefits and Costs of Communication Technologies (ABCCT) questionnaire to supplement traditional qualita-tive methods of

The impact of new technology on compact disposal costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arrowsmith, H.W.; Zidow, T.M.

1989-01-01

The cost of disposal of low-level waste (LLW) has increased dramatically since the 1960s. In the '60s waste was put into the ground for a fee of less than $1/ft 3 in truck-size quantities. Fees for the same burial services today begin in the $30/ft 3 range and increase rapidly from that level. Although the user fees associated with compacts will clearly exceed $100/ft 3 , improved operating techniques by the generators will reduce the amount of waste produced. Current estimates suggest this reduction will drive the per-cubic-foot cost of disposal over the $200 mark. Technology is the only solution to this predicament. While costs already incurred will contribute to the fixed portion of the base user fees, the means to minimize the variable portion of the fees in now at hand. This variable portion results from on-site processing costs, waste form stability enhancements, and ongoing disposal unit construction. Technology exists to minimize volume through ultra compaction and selective incineration, greatly reducing the ongoing disposal unit construction requirements. Vitrification of incinerator residue provides waste form stability far in excess of that provided by concrete overpacks. As overpacks represent the second largest material cost at an engineered barrier facility, the potential for cost savings is substantial

Cost analysis of soil-depressurization techniques for indoor radon reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henschel, D.B.

1991-01-01

The article discusses a parametric cost analysis to evaluate active soil depressurization (ASD) systems for indoor radon reduction in houses. The analysis determined the relative importance of 14 ASD design variables and 2 operating variables on the installation and operating costs of residential ASD systems in several types of houses. Knowledge of the most important variables would enable EPA's research and development efforts to be more effectively directed at ways to reduce ASD costs and thus to increase utilization of the technology. Parameters offering the greatest potential for reductions in installation costs included three dealing with houses with poor subslab communication: (1) reducing the number of subslab depressurization pipes; (2) eliminating excavation of large subslab pits beneath the suction pipes to improve suction field extension; and (3) improving the effectiveness of premitigation subslab communication diagnostic testing in achieving simpler, less expensive ASD system designs. In addition, determining acceptable conditions for discharging ASD exhaust at grade level would reduce installation costs. Better design guidance for crawl-space submembrane depressurization (SMD) systems could reduce installation costs, if difficult membrane sealing steps and complete coverage of the crawl-space floor by the membrane can be avoided

Assessment of major nuclear technologies with decision and risk analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winterfeldt, D. von

1995-01-01

Selecting technologies for major nuclear programs involves several complexities, including multiple stakeholders, multiple conflicting objectives, uncertainties, and risk. In addition, the programmatic risks related to the schedule, cost, and performance of these technologies often become major issues in the selection process. This paper describes a decision analysis approach for addressing these complexities in a logical manner

Algolcam: Low Cost Sky Scanning with Modern Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Connors, Martin; Bolton, Dempsey; Doktor, Ian

2016-01-01

, it offers great potential for analysis and discovery. The use of low cost cutting edge technology makes Algolcam particularly interesting for enhancing the advanced undergraduate learning experience in astronomy.

Cost of organic waste technologies: A case study for New Jersey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gal Hochman

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates the benefits of converting food waste and manure to biogas and/or fertilizer, while focusing on four available waste treatment technologies: direct combustion, landfilling, composting, and anaerobic digestion. These four alternative technologies were simulated using municipal-level data on food waste and manure in New Jersey. The criteria used to assess the four technologies include technological productivity, economic benefits, and impact on land scarcity. Anaerobic digestion with gas collection has the highest technological productivity; using anaerobic digesters would supply electricity to nearly ten thousand families in New Jersey. In terms of economic benefits, the landfill to gas method is the least costly method of treating waste. In comparison, direct combustion is by far the most costly method of all four waste-to-energy technologies.

NASA Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM): Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS) Technology Tool Box

Science.gov (United States)

ONeil, D. A.; Craig, D. A.; Christensen, C. B.; Gresham, E. C.

2005-01-01

The objective of this Technical Interchange Meeting was to increase the quantity and quality of technical, cost, and programmatic data used to model the impact of investing in different technologies. The focus of this meeting was the Technology Tool Box (TTB), a database of performance, operations, and programmatic parameters provided by technologists and used by systems engineers. The TTB is the data repository used by a system of models known as the Advanced Technology Lifecycle Analysis System (ATLAS). This report describes the result of the November meeting, and also provides background information on ATLAS and the TTB.

Retention payoff-based cost per day open regression equations: Application in a user-friendly decision support tool for investment analysis of automated estrus detection technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolecheck, K A; Heersche, G; Bewley, J M

2016-12-01

Assessing the economic implications of investing in automated estrus detection (AED) technologies can be overwhelming for dairy producers. The objectives of this study were to develop new regression equations for estimating the cost per day open (DO) and to apply the results to create a user-friendly, partial budget, decision support tool for investment analysis of AED technologies. In the resulting decision support tool, the end user can adjust herd-specific inputs regarding general management, current reproductive management strategies, and the proposed AED system. Outputs include expected DO, reproductive cull rate, net present value, and payback period for the proposed AED system. Utility of the decision support tool was demonstrated with an example dairy herd created using data from DairyMetrics (Dairy Records Management Systems, Raleigh, NC), Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (Columbia, MO), and published literature. Resulting herd size, rolling herd average milk production, milk price, and feed cost were 323 cows, 10,758kg, $0.41/kg, and $0.20/kg of dry matter, respectively. Automated estrus detection technologies with 2 levels of initial system cost (low: $5,000 vs. high: $10,000), tag price (low: $50 vs. high: $100), and estrus detection rate (low: 60% vs. high: 80%) were compared over a 7-yr investment period. Four scenarios were considered in a demonstration of the investment analysis tool: (1) a herd using 100% visual observation for estrus detection before adopting 100% AED, (2) a herd using 100% visual observation before adopting 75% AED and 25% visual observation, (3) a herd using 100% timed artificial insemination (TAI) before adopting 100% AED, and (4) a herd using 100% TAI before adopting 75% AED and 25% TAI. Net present value in scenarios 1 and 2 was always positive, indicating a positive investment situation. Net present value in scenarios 3 and 4 was always positive in combinations using a $50 tag price, and in scenario 4, the $5

Cost and benefit estimates of partially-automated vehicle collision avoidance technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Corey D; Hendrickson, Chris T; Samaras, Constantine

2016-10-01

Many light-duty vehicle crashes occur due to human error and distracted driving. Partially-automated crash avoidance features offer the potential to reduce the frequency and severity of vehicle crashes that occur due to distracted driving and/or human error by assisting in maintaining control of the vehicle or issuing alerts if a potentially dangerous situation is detected. This paper evaluates the benefits and costs of fleet-wide deployment of blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning crash avoidance systems within the US light-duty vehicle fleet. The three crash avoidance technologies could collectively prevent or reduce the severity of as many as 1.3 million U.S. crashes a year including 133,000 injury crashes and 10,100 fatal crashes. For this paper we made two estimates of potential benefits in the United States: (1) the upper bound fleet-wide technology diffusion benefits by assuming all relevant crashes are avoided and (2) the lower bound fleet-wide benefits of the three technologies based on observed insurance data. The latter represents a lower bound as technology is improved over time and cost reduced with scale economies and technology improvement. All three technologies could collectively provide a lower bound annual benefit of about $18 billion if equipped on all light-duty vehicles. With 2015 pricing of safety options, the total annual costs to equip all light-duty vehicles with the three technologies would be about $13 billion, resulting in an annual net benefit of about $4 billion or a $20 per vehicle net benefit. By assuming all relevant crashes are avoided, the total upper bound annual net benefit from all three technologies combined is about $202 billion or an $861 per vehicle net benefit, at current technology costs. The technologies we are exploring in this paper represent an early form of vehicle automation and a positive net benefit suggests the fleet-wide adoption of these technologies would be beneficial

Impacts of nuclear fuel cycle costs on nuclear power generating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertel, E.; Naudet, G.

1989-01-01

Fuel cycle costs are one of the main parameters to evaluate the competitiveness of various nuclear strategies. The historical analysis based on the French case shows the good performances yet achieved in mastering elementary costs in order to limit global fuel cycle cost escalation. Two contrasted theoretical scenarios of costs evolution in the middle and long term have been determined, based upon market analysis and technological improvements expected. They are used to calculate the global fuel cycle costs for various fuel management options and for three strategies of nuclear deployment. The results illustrate the stability of the expected fuel cycle costs over the long term, to be compared to the high incertainty prevailing for fossil fueled plants. The economic advantages of advanced technologies such as MOX fueled PWRs are underlined

Advanced gasifier and water gas shift technologies for low cost coal conversion to high hydrogen syngas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, Andrew Kramer [Gas Technology Inst., Des Plaines, IL (United States)

2016-09-30

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and team members RTI International (RTI), Coanda Research and Development, and Nexant, are developing and maturing a portfolio of technologies to meet the United States Department of Energy (DOE) goals for lowering the cost of producing high hydrogen syngas from coal for use in carbon capture power and coal-to-liquids/chemicals. This project matured an advanced pilot-scale gasifier, with scalable and commercially traceable components, to readiness for use in a first-of-a-kind commercially-relevant demonstration plant on the scale of 500-1,000 tons per day (TPD). This was accomplished through cold flow simulation of the gasifier quench zone transition region at Coanda and through an extensive hotfire gasifier test program on highly reactive coal and high ash/high ash fusion temperature coals at GTI. RTI matured an advanced water gas shift process and catalyst to readiness for testing at pilot plant scale through catalyst development and testing, and development of a preliminary design basis for a pilot scale reactor demonstrating the catalyst. A techno-economic analysis was performed by Nexant to assess the potential benefits of the gasifier and catalyst technologies in the context of power production and methanol production. This analysis showed an 18%reduction in cost of power and a 19%reduction in cost of methanol relative to DOE reference baseline cases.

An analysis of decommissioning costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teunckens, L.; Loeschhorn, U.; Yanagihara, S.; Wren, G.; Menon, S.

1992-01-01

Within the OECD/NEA Cooperative Programme on Decommissioning a Task Group was set up early in 1989 to identify the reasons for the large variations in decommissioning cost estimates. The Task Group gathered cost data from 12 of the 14 projects in the Programme to form the basis of their analysis. They included reactors being decommissioned to various stages as well as fuel cycle facilities. The projects were divided into groups of projects with similar characteristics ('models') to facilitate the analysis of the cost distribution in each group of projects and the cost data was progressively refined by a dialogue between the Task Group and the project managers. A comparative analysis was then performed and project specific discrepancies were identified. The Task Group's report is summarized on the results of the comparative analysis as well as the lessons learnt by the Task Group in the acquisition and analysis of cost data from international decommissioning projects. (author) 5 tabs

Ethics and Cost-Benefit Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arler, Finn

The purpose of this research report is threefold. Firstly, the author traces the origins and justification of cost-benefit analysis in moral and political philosophy. Secondly, he explain some of the basic features of cost-benefit analysis as a planning tool in a step-bystep presentation. Thirdly......, he presents and discusses some of the main ethical difficulties related to the use of cost-benefit analysis as a planning tool....

Sensor Technology Integration for Efficient and Cost-Effective D and D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varona, J. M.; Lagos, L. E.

2002-01-01

The deactivation and decommissioning of radiologically contaminated facilities require the use of a multitude of technologies to perform characterization, decontamination, dismantlement, and waste management. Current baseline technologies do not provide adequate tools to perform this work in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Examples of such tasks that can be modified to enhance the D and D work include: floor and wall decontamination, pipe decontamination, and surveillance and monitoring. FIU-HCET's Technology Development, Integration and Deployment (TDID) group aims to enhance the D and D process by integrating sensor technology to existing decontamination and remote surveillance tools. These integrated systems have been demonstrated throughout the DOE Complex and commercial nuclear facilities undergoing decommissioning. Finding new ways of integrating technologies utilized in the decommissioning and surveillance and monitoring process has been a goal of this group during the past several years. Current and previous integration projects include: Mobile Integrated Piping Decontamination and Characterization System, On-Line Decontamination and Characterization System, In-Situ Pipe Decontamination and Unplugging System, Remote Hazardous Environment Surveyor (RHES), and the Online Handheld grit blasting decontamination system As a result of integrating sensors with D and D tools, the resulting technologies have removed the downtime currently found in baseline processes by allowing operators and project managers to have real-time contamination data during the specified D and D process. This added component allows project managers to verify that full decontamination and surveillance has been conducted. Through successful demonstration and deployments of the TDID-developed technologies, FIU-HCET has provided tools that can impact the cost, schedule and health and safety of D and D operations in a positive way, leading to shorter downtimes and significant cost

Life cycle cost analysis of wind power considering stochastic uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Chiao-Ting; Peng, Huei; Sun, Jing

2014-01-01

This paper presents a long-term cost analysis of wind power and compares its competitiveness to non-renewable generating technologies. The analysis considers several important attributes related to wind intermittency that are sometimes ignored in traditional generation planning or LCOE (levelized cost of energy) studies, including the need for more nameplate capacity due to intermittency, hourly fluctuations in wind outputs and cost for reserves. The competitiveness of wind power is assessed by evaluating four scenarios: 1) adding natural gas generating capacity to the power grid; 2) adding coal generating capacity to the power grid; 3) adding wind capacity to the power grid; and, 4) adding wind capacity and energy storage to the power grid where an energy storage device is used to cover wind intermittency. A case study in the state of Michigan is presented to demonstrate the use of the proposed methodology, in which a time horizon from 2010 to 2040 is considered. The results show that wind energy will still be more expensive than natural gas power plants in the next three decades, but will be cheaper than coal capacities if wind intermittency is mitigated. Furthermore, if the costs of carbon emissions and environmental externalities are considered, wind generation will be a competitive option for grid capacity expansion. - Highlights: • The competitiveness of wind power is analyzed via life cycle cost analysis. • Wind intermittency and reserve costs are explicitly considered in the analysis. • Results show that wind is still more expensive than natural gas power plants. • Wind can be cheaper than coal capacities if wind intermittency is mitigated. • Wind will be competitive if costs of carbon emissions are considered

Practical aspects of photovoltaic technology, applications and cost (revised)

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblum, L.

1985-01-01

The purpose of this text is to provide the reader with the background, understanding, and computational tools needed to master the practical aspects of photovoltaic (PV) technology, application, and cost. The focus is on stand-alone, silicon solar cell, flat-plate systems in the range of 1 to 25 kWh/day output. Technology topics covered include operation and performance of each of the major system components (e.g., modules, array, battery, regulators, controls, and instrumentation), safety, installation, operation and maintenance, and electrical loads. Application experience and trends are presented. Indices of electrical service performance - reliability, availability, and voltage control - are discussed, and the known service performance of central station electric grid, diesel-generator, and PV stand-alone systems are compared. PV system sizing methods are reviewed and compared, and a procedure for rapid sizing is described and illustrated by the use of several sample cases. The rapid sizing procedure yields an array and battery size that corresponds to a minimum cost system for a given load requirement, insulation condition, and desired level of service performance. PV system capital cost and levelized energy cost are derived as functions of service performance and insulation. Estimates of future trends in PV system costs are made.

A methodology for financial evaluation of biogas technology in India using cost functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubab, S.; Kandpal, T.C.

1996-01-01

A methodology for financial evaluation of biogas technology for domestic use in India using recently developed cost functions is reported. Analytical expressions for the unit cost of biogas and cost per unit of useful energy delivered by a biogas plant in combination with other suitable technologies have been developed. Net present value and discounted pay-back period have been calculated. The sensitivity of the unit cost of biogas, the cost per unit of useful energy, and the net present value with respect to a number of variables is also reported. (author)

Cost benefit analysis vs. referenda

OpenAIRE

Martin J. Osborne; Matthew A. Turner

2007-01-01

We consider a planner who chooses between two possible public policies and ask whether a referendum or a cost benefit analysis leads to higher welfare. We find that a referendum leads to higher welfare than a cost benefit analyses in "common value" environments. Cost benefit analysis is better in "private value" environments.

The costs and consequences of assisted reproductive technology: an economic perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Connolly, Mark P; Hoorens, Stijn; Chambers, Georgina M

2010-01-01

Despite the growing use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) worldwide, there is only a limited understanding of the economics of ART to inform policy about effective, safe and equitable financing of ART treatment. A review was undertaken of key studies regarding the costs and consequences of ART treatment, specifically examining the direct and indirect costs of treatment, economic drivers of utilization and clinical practice and broader economic consequences of ART-conceived children. The direct costs of ART treatment vary substantially between countries, with the USA standing out as the most expensive. The direct costs generally reflect the costliness of the underlying healthcare system. If unsubsidized, direct costs represent a significant economic burden to patients. The level of affordability of ART treatment is an important driver of utilization, treatment choices, embryo transfer practices and ultimately multiple birth rates. The costs associated with caring for multiple-birth ART infants and their mothers are substantial, reflecting the underlying morbidity associated with such pregnancies. Investment analysis of ART treatment and ART-conceived children indicates that appropriate funding of ART services appears to represent sound fiscal policy. The complex interaction between the cost of ART treatment and how treatments are subsidized in different healthcare settings and for different patient groups has far-reaching consequences for ART utilization, clinical practice and infant outcomes. A greater understanding of the economics of ART is needed to inform policy decisions and to ensure the best possible outcomes from ART treatment.

Use of cost-effective construction technologies in India to mitigate climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sengupta, N. [Forum of Scientists, Engineers and Technologists, Kolkata (India)

2008-01-10

Concentration of greenhouse gases plays a major role in raising the earth's temperature. Carbon dioxide, produced from burning of fossil fuels, is the principle greenhouse gas and efforts are being made at international level to reduce its emission through adoption of energy-efficient technologies. The UN Conference on Environment and Development, 1992 made a significant development in this field by initiating the discussion on sustainable development under the Agenda 21. Cost-effective construction technologies can bring down the embodied energy level associated with production of building materials by lowering use of energy-consuming materials. This embodied energy is a crucial factor for sustainable construction practices and effective reduction of the same would contribute in mitigating global warming. The cost-effective construction technologies would emerge as the most acceptable case of sustainable technologies in India both in terms of cost and environment.

Commercial sector gas cooling technology frontier and market share analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pine, G.D.; Mac Donald, J.M.; McLain, H.A.

1990-01-01

This paper describes a method, developed for the Gas Research Institute of the United States, that can assist planning for commercial sector natural gas cooling systems R and D. These systems are higher in first cost than conventional electric chillers. Yet, engine-driven chiller designs exist which are currently competitive in U.S. markets typified by high electricity or demand charges. Section II describes a scenario analysis approach used to develop and test the method. Section III defines the technology frontier, a conceptual tool for identifying new designs with sales potential. Section IV describes a discrete choice method for predicting market shares of technologies with sales potential. Section V shows how the method predicts operating parameter, cost, and/or performance goals for technologies without current sales potential (or for enhancing a frontier technology's sales potential). Section VI concludes with an illustrative example for the Chicago office building retrofit market

Assessing the costs of municipal solid waste treatment technologies in developing Asian countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Aleluia, João; Ferrão, Paulo

2017-11-01

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the main costs incurred by local authorities in developing countries. According to some estimates, these costs can account for up to 50% of city government budgets. It is therefore of importance that policymakers, urban planners and practitioners have an adequate understanding of what these costs consist of, from collection to final waste disposal. This article focuses on a specific stage of the MSW value chain, the treatment of waste, and it aims to identify cost patterns associated with the implementation and operation of waste treatment approaches in developing Asian countries. An analysis of the capital (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX) of a number of facilities located in countries of the region was conducted based on a database gathering nearly 100 projects and which served as basis for assessing four technology categories: composting, anaerobic digestion (AD), thermal treatment, and the production of refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Among these, it was found that the least costly to invest, asa function of the capacity to process waste, are composting facilities, with an average CAPEX per ton of 21,493 USD 2015 /ton. Conversely, at the upper end featured incineration plants, with an average CAPEX of 81,880 USD 2015 /ton, with this treatment approach ranking by and large as the most capital intensive of the four categories assessed. OPEX figures of the plants, normalized and analyzed in the form of OPEX/ton, were also found to be higher for incineration than for biological treatment methods, although on this component differences amongst the technology groups were less pronounced than those observed for CAPEX. While the results indicated the existence of distinct cost implications for available treatment approaches in the developing Asian context, the analysis also underscored the importance of understanding the local context asa means to properly identify the cost structure of each specific plant

Nanofiltration technology in water treatment and reuse: applications and costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahmansouri, Arash; Bellona, Christopher

2015-01-01

Nanofiltration (NF) is a relatively recent development in membrane technology with characteristics that fall between ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO). While RO membranes dominate the seawater desalination industry, NF is employed in a variety of water and wastewater treatment and industrial applications for the selective removal of ions and organic substances, as well as certain niche seawater desalination applications. The purpose of this study was to review the application of NF membranes in the water and wastewater industry including water softening and color removal, industrial wastewater treatment, water reuse, and desalination. Basic economic analyses were also performed to compare the profitability of using NF membranes over alternative processes. Although any detailed cost estimation is hampered by some uncertainty (e.g. applicability of estimation methods to large-scale systems, labor costs in different areas of the world), NF was found to be a cost-effective technology for certain investigated applications. The selection of NF over other treatment technologies, however, is dependent on several factors including pretreatment requirements, influent water quality, treatment facility capacity, and treatment goals.

Solar thermal technology development: Estimated market size and energy cost savings. Volume 1: Executive summary

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, W. R.

1983-02-01

Estimated future energy cost savings associated with the development of cost-competitive solar thermal technologies (STT) are discussed. Analysis is restricted to STT in electric applications for 16 high-insolation/high-energy-price states. The fuel price scenarios and three 1990 STT system costs are considered, reflecting uncertainty over future fuel prices and STT cost projections. STT R&D is found to be unacceptably risky for private industry in the absence of federal support. Energy cost savings were projected to range from $0 to $10 billion (1990 values in 1981 dollars), dependng on the system cost and fuel price scenario. Normal R&D investment risks are accentuated because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel can artificially manipulate oil prices and undercut growth of alternative energy sources. Federal participation in STT R&D to help capture the potential benefits of developing cost-competitive STT was found to be in the national interest.

Solar thermal technology development: Estimated market size and energy cost savings. Volume 1: Executive summary

Science.gov (United States)

Gates, W. R.

1983-01-01

Estimated future energy cost savings associated with the development of cost-competitive solar thermal technologies (STT) are discussed. Analysis is restricted to STT in electric applications for 16 high-insolation/high-energy-price states. The fuel price scenarios and three 1990 STT system costs are considered, reflecting uncertainty over future fuel prices and STT cost projections. STT R&D is found to be unacceptably risky for private industry in the absence of federal support. Energy cost savings were projected to range from $0 to $10 billion (1990 values in 1981 dollars), dependng on the system cost and fuel price scenario. Normal R&D investment risks are accentuated because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel can artificially manipulate oil prices and undercut growth of alternative energy sources. Federal participation in STT R&D to help capture the potential benefits of developing cost-competitive STT was found to be in the national interest.

Cost-Effectiveness of Old and New Technologies for Aneuploidy Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinkey, Rachel G; Odibo, Anthony O

2016-06-01

Cost-effectiveness analyses allow assessment of whether marginal gains from new technology are worth increased costs. Several studies have examined cost-effectiveness of Down syndrome (DS) screening and found it to be cost-effective. Noninvasive prenatal screening also appears to be cost-effective among high-risk women with respect to DS screening, but not for the general population. Chromosomal microarray (CMA) is a genetic sequencing method superior to but more expensive than karyotype. In light of CMAs greater ability to detect genetic abnormalities, it is cost-effective when used for prenatal diagnosis of an anomalous fetus. This article covers methodology and salient issues of cost-effectiveness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ship Compliance in Emission Control Areas: Technology Costs and Policy Instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Edward W; Corbett, James J

2015-08-18

This paper explores whether a Panama Canal Authority pollution tax could be an effective economic instrument to achieve Emission Control Area (ECA)-like reductions in emissions from ships transiting the Panama Canal. This tariff-based policy action, whereby vessels in compliance with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ECA standards pay a lower transit tariff than noncompliant vessels, could be a feasible alternative to petitioning for a Panamanian ECA through the IMO. A $4.06/container fuel tax could incentivize ECA-compliant emissions reductions for nearly two-thirds of Panama Canal container vessels, mainly through fuel switching; if the vessel(s) also operate in IMO-defined ECAs, exhaust-gas treatment technologies may be cost-effective. The RATES model presented here compares current abatement technologies based on hours of operation within an ECA, computing costs for a container vessel to comply with ECA standards in addition to computing the Canal tax that would reduce emissions in Panama. Retrofitted open-loop scrubbers are cost-effective only for vessels operating within an ECA for more than 4500 h annually. Fuel switching is the least-cost option to industry for vessels that operate mostly outside of ECA regions, whereas vessels operating entirely within an ECA region could reduce compliance cost with exhaust-gas treatment technology (scrubbers).

Distributed utility technology cost, performance, and environmental characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan, Y; Adelman, S

1995-06-01

Distributed Utility (DU) is an emerging concept in which modular generation and storage technologies sited near customer loads in distribution systems and specifically targeted demand-side management programs are used to supplement conventional central station generation plants to meet customer energy service needs. Research has shown that implementation of the DU concept could provide substantial benefits to utilities. This report summarizes the cost, performance, and environmental and siting characteristics of existing and emerging modular generation and storage technologies that are applicable under the DU concept. It is intended to be a practical reference guide for utility planners and engineers seeking information on DU technology options. This work was funded by the Office of Utility Technologies of the US Department of Energy.

A Spatial-Economic Cost-Reduction Pathway Analysis for U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Development from 2015-2030

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beiter, Philipp; Stehly, Tyler

2016-10-05

The potential for cost reduction and economic viability for offshore wind varies considerably within the United States. This analysis models the cost impact of a range of offshore wind locational cost variables across more than 7,000 potential coastal sites in the United States' offshore wind resource area. It also assesses the impact of over 50 technology innovations on potential future costs between 2015 and 2027 (Commercial Operation Date) for both fixed-bottom and floating wind systems. Comparing these costs to an initial assessment of local avoided generating costs, this analysis provides a framework for estimating the economic potential for offshore wind. Analyzing economic potential within this framework can help establish a refined understanding across industries of the technology and site-specific risks and opportunities associated with future offshore wind development. The findings from the original report indicate that under the modeled scenario, offshore wind can be expected to achieve significant cost reductions and may approach economic viability in some parts of the United States within the next 15 years.

Low-cost fabrication technologies for nanostructures: state-of-the-art and potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, A; Deen, M J; Marsal, L F

2015-01-01

In the last decade, some low-cost nanofabrication technologies used in several disciplines of nanotechnology have demonstrated promising results in terms of versatility and scalability for producing innovative nanostructures. While conventional nanofabrication technologies such as photolithography are and will be an important part of nanofabrication, some low-cost nanofabrication technologies have demonstrated outstanding capabilities for large-scale production, providing high throughputs with acceptable resolution and broad versatility. Some of these nanotechnological approaches are reviewed in this article, providing information about the fundamentals, limitations and potential future developments towards nanofabrication processes capable of producing a broad range of nanostructures. Furthermore, in many cases, these low-cost nanofabrication approaches can be combined with traditional nanofabrication technologies. This combination is considered a promising way of generating innovative nanostructures suitable for a broad range of applications such as in opto-electronics, nano-electronics, photonics, sensing, biotechnology or medicine. (topical review)

Low-cost fabrication technologies for nanostructures: state-of-the-art and potential

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, A.; Deen, M. J.; Marsal, L. F.

2015-01-01

In the last decade, some low-cost nanofabrication technologies used in several disciplines of nanotechnology have demonstrated promising results in terms of versatility and scalability for producing innovative nanostructures. While conventional nanofabrication technologies such as photolithography are and will be an important part of nanofabrication, some low-cost nanofabrication technologies have demonstrated outstanding capabilities for large-scale production, providing high throughputs with acceptable resolution and broad versatility. Some of these nanotechnological approaches are reviewed in this article, providing information about the fundamentals, limitations and potential future developments towards nanofabrication processes capable of producing a broad range of nanostructures. Furthermore, in many cases, these low-cost nanofabrication approaches can be combined with traditional nanofabrication technologies. This combination is considered a promising way of generating innovative nanostructures suitable for a broad range of applications such as in opto-electronics, nano-electronics, photonics, sensing, biotechnology or medicine.

The external costs of electricity generation: a comparison of generation technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ozdemiroglu, E [Economics for the Environment Consultancy, London (United Kingdom)

1995-12-01

Electricity generation, like any economic activity, leads to costs that can be grouped in two categories: (a) private or internal and (b) external. Private costs are those paid by the buyers and sellers of energy within the market system. The external costs, however, are not included in the market price mechanism as they accrue to third parties other than the buyer and the seller. External costs include environmental external costs and non-environmental external costs. There are two conditions for the existence of external costs: (a) market failure, or the inability of markets to account for the cost of environmental impacts of energy generation and the market structure and (b) government or policy failure, or the policies that cause private generators to pay either higher or lower costs than they would if these interventions did not exist. A third reason can be added for the existence of non-environmental externalities: energy security, or certain costs faced by society as a result of over-reliance on imported energy. Section A introduces the concept of external costs and benefits. Section B looks at the environmental externalities of energy generation. The procedure is to develop the methodology to estimate what are known as externality adders, i.e. a monetary value for the environmental costs and benefits associated with selected generation technologies, expressed in pence per kilowatt-hour. The result is an `adder` because, in principle, the sum can be added to the private cost of generating electricity to obtain a measure of the `full` or `social` cost. The selected generation technologies are conventional coal, wind power, small-scale hydro, energy crops, incineration of municipal solid waste and energy recovery from landfill. The data reported are based on the application of the technologies in Scotland, but the methodology can be applied anywhere. Section C takes a brief look at the non-environmental externalities including the general theory and evidence

The external costs of electricity generation: a comparison of generation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozdemiroglu, E.

1995-01-01

Electricity generation, like any economic activity, leads to costs that can be grouped in two categories: (a) private or internal and (b) external. Private costs are those paid by the buyers and sellers of energy within the market system. The external costs, however, are not included in the market price mechanism as they accrue to third parties other than the buyer and the seller. External costs include environmental external costs and non-environmental external costs. There are two conditions for the existence of external costs: (a) market failure, or the inability of markets to account for the cost of environmental impacts of energy generation and the market structure and (b) government or policy failure, or the policies that cause private generators to pay either higher or lower costs than they would if these interventions did not exist. A third reason can be added for the existence of non-environmental externalities: energy security, or certain costs faced by society as a result of over-reliance on imported energy. Section A introduces the concept of external costs and benefits. Section B looks at the environmental externalities of energy generation. The procedure is to develop the methodology to estimate what are known as externality adders, i.e. a monetary value for the environmental costs and benefits associated with selected generation technologies, expressed in pence per kilowatt-hour. The result is an 'adder' because, in principle, the sum can be added to the private cost of generating electricity to obtain a measure of the 'full' or 'social' cost. The selected generation technologies are conventional coal, wind power, small-scale hydro, energy crops, incineration of municipal solid waste and energy recovery from landfill. The data reported are based on the application of the technologies in Scotland, but the methodology can be applied anywhere. Section C takes a brief look at the non-environmental externalities including the general theory and evidence

The System Cost Model: A tool for life cycle cost and risk analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, K.; Lundeen, A.; Shropshire, D.; Sherick, M.

1996-01-01

In May of 1994, Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company (LITCO) in Idaho Falls, Idaho and subcontractors began development of the System Cost Model (SCM) application. The SCM estimates life cycle costs of the entire US Department of Energy (DOE) complex for designing; constructing; operating; and decommissioning treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities for mixed low-level, low-level, and transuranic waste. The SCM uses parametric cost functions to estimate life cycle costs for various treatment, storage, and disposal modules which reflect planned and existing waste management facilities at DOE installations. In addition, SCM can model new TSD facilities based on capacity needs over the program life cycle. The user can provide input data (default data is included in the SCM) including the volume and nature of waste to be managed, the time period over which the waste is to be managed, and the configuration of the waste management complex (i.e., where each installation's generated waste will be treated, stored, and disposed). Then the SCM uses parametric cost equations to estimate the costs of pre-operations (designing), construction, operations and maintenance, and decommissioning these waste management facilities. The SCM also provides transportation costs for DOE wastes. Transportation costs are provided for truck and rail and include transport of contact-handled, remote-handled, and alpha (transuranic) wastes. A complement to the SCM is the System Cost Model-Risk (SCM-R) model, which provides relative Environmental, Safety, and Health (ES and H) risk information. A relative ES and H risk basis has been developed and applied by LITCO at the INEL. The risk basis is now being automated in the SCM-R to facilitate rapid risk analysis of system alternatives. The added risk functionality will allow combined cost and risk evaluation of EM alternatives

Ethical analysis to improve decision-making on health technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saarni, Samuli I; Hofmann, Bjørn; Lampe, Kristian

2008-01-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) is the multidisciplinary study of the implications of the development, diffusion and use of health technologies. It supports health-policy decisions by providing a joint knowledge base for decision-makers. To increase its policy relevance, HTA tries to extend...... beyond effectiveness and costs to also considering the social, organizational and ethical implications of technologies. However, a commonly accepted method for analysing the ethical aspects of health technologies is lacking. This paper describes a model for ethical analysis of health technology...... to only analyse the ethical consequences of a technology, but also the ethical issues of the whole HTA process must be considered. Selection of assessment topics, methods and outcomes is essentially a value-laden decision. Health technologies may challenge moral or cultural values and beliefs...

An application of multiattribute decision analysis to the Space Station Freedom program. Case study: Automation and robotics technology evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jeffrey H.; Levin, Richard R.; Carpenter, Elisabeth J.

1990-01-01

The results are described of an application of multiattribute analysis to the evaluation of high leverage prototyping technologies in the automation and robotics (A and R) areas that might contribute to the Space Station (SS) Freedom baseline design. An implication is that high leverage prototyping is beneficial to the SS Freedom Program as a means for transferring technology from the advanced development program to the baseline program. The process also highlights the tradeoffs to be made between subsidizing high value, low risk technology development versus high value, high risk technology developments. Twenty one A and R Technology tasks spanning a diverse array of technical concepts were evaluated using multiattribute decision analysis. Because of large uncertainties associated with characterizing the technologies, the methodology was modified to incorporate uncertainty. Eight attributes affected the rankings: initial cost, operation cost, crew productivity, safety, resource requirements, growth potential, and spinoff potential. The four attributes of initial cost, operations cost, crew productivity, and safety affected the rankings the most.

Cost Analysis of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Stacks for Mass Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Francesco Sgroi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Fuel cells are very promising technologies for efficient electrical energy generation. The development of enhanced system components and new engineering solutions is fundamental for the large-scale deployment of these devices. Besides automotive and stationary applications, fuel cells can be widely used as auxiliary power units (APUs. The concept of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC is based on the direct feed of a methanol solution to the fuel cell anode, thus simplifying safety, delivery, and fuel distribution issues typical of conventional hydrogen-fed polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs. In order to evaluate the feasibility of concrete application of DMFC devices, a cost analysis study was carried out in the present work. A 200 W-prototype developed in the framework of a European Project (DURAMET was selected as the model system. The DMFC stack had a modular structure allowing for a detailed evaluation of cost characteristics related to the specific components. A scale-down approach, focusing on the model device and projected to a mass production, was used. The data used in this analysis were obtained both from research laboratories and industry suppliers specialising in the manufacturing/production of specific stack components. This study demonstrates that mass production can give a concrete perspective for the large-scale diffusion of DMFCs as APUs. The results show that the cost derived for the DMFC stack is relatively close to that of competing technologies and that the introduction of innovative approaches can result in further cost savings.

113 The Cost Analysis of a Start-up Company in the Information Technology Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cornelia Elena Tureac

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Most countries more or less developed rely on the dynamism and resistance to risk of the private companies. Worldwide, the SMEs represent 85% of private companies that engages approximately 60% of the workforce. The company’s performance is reflected in expenditure analysis which is an important factor to be considered in an enterprise. Because of the importance of this issue, we performed an analysis and the presentation of costs of a company working in the field of IT. The expenses, if they are well established and commensurate with the income, the company will certainly be able to overcome the economic barriers that occur during the course of business activity. The research methodology lies in analyzing and highlighting the company's expenses, aiming at the necessary equipment, acquisition of intangible fixed assets, administrative expenses, external services and not least the wage costs. Spending is a factor that depends entirely on the company's control, so it represents a primary factor for analysis. In conclusion the biggest expenses in the first year are those aiming at the acquisition cost of intangible fixed assets, respectively 103.090.00 representing the software necessary for conducting the activity, and those with external performance executed by third parties amounting to 330,800.00 lei, the largest share could be found in the research activity. Salary expenditures in the first year of operation are of 299.267.00 lei.

Engineering, Analysis and Technology FY 1995 Site Support Program Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, R.M.

1994-09-01

The vision of the Engineering, Analysis and Technology organization is to be recognized as the cost-effective supplier of specialized, integrated, multi-disciplined engineering teams to support Hanford missions. The mission of the Engineering, Analysis and Technology organization is to provide centralized engineering services. These services are focused on supplying technical design, analytical engineering and related support services that support Hanford's environmental restoration mission. These services include engineering analysis, design and development of systems and engineered equipment, supplying multi-disciplined engineering teams to all Hanford programs and project organizations, engineering document release, and site-wide leadership in the development and implementation of engineering standards, engineering practices, and configuration management processes

CO2 control technology effects on IGCC plant performance and cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Chao; Rubin, Edward S.

2009-01-01

As part of the USDOE's Carbon Sequestration Program, an integrated modeling framework has been developed to evaluate the performance and cost of alternative carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for fossil-fueled power plants in the context of multi-pollutant control requirements. This paper uses the newly developed model of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant to analyze the effects of adding CCS to an IGCC system employing a GE quench gasifier with water gas shift reactors and a Selexol system for CO 2 capture. Parameters of interest include the effects on plant performance and cost of varying the CO 2 removal efficiency, the quality and cost of coal, and selected other factors affecting overall plant performance and cost. The stochastic simulation capability of the model is also used to illustrate the effect of uncertainties or variability in key process and cost parameters. The potential for advanced oxygen production and gas turbine technologies to reduce the cost and environmental impacts of IGCC with CCS is also analyzed

Cost benefit analysis of recycling nuclear fuel cycle in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jewhan; Chang, Soonheung

2012-01-01

Nuclear power has become an essential part of electricity generation to meet the continuous growth of electricity demand. The importance if nuclear waste management has been the main issue since the beginning of nuclear history. The recycling nuclear fuel cycle includes the fast reactor, which can burn the nuclear wastes, and the pyro-processing technology, which can reprocess the spent nuclear fuel. In this study, a methodology using Linear Programming (LP) is employed to evaluate the cost and benefits of introducing the recycling strategy and thus, to see the competitiveness of recycling fuel cycle. The LP optimization involves tradeoffs between the fast reactor capital cost with pyro-processing cost premiums and the total system uranium price with spent nuclear fuel management cost premiums. With the help of LP and sensitivity analysis, the effect of important parameters is presented as well as the target values for each cost and price of key factors

Controlling air pollution from passenger ferries: cost-effectiveness of seven technological options.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Alexander E; Corbett, James J; Winebrake, James J

2002-12-01

Continued interest in improving air quality in the United States along with renewed interest in the expansion of urban passenger ferry service has created concern about air pollution from ferry vessels. This paper presents a methodology for estimating the air pollution emissions from passenger ferries and the costs of emissions control strategies. The methodology is used to estimate the emissions and costs of retrofitting or re-powering ferries with seven technological options (combinations of propulsion and emission control systems) onto three vessels currently in service in San Francisco Bay. The technologies include improved engine design, cleaner fuels (including natural gas), and exhaust gas cleanup devices. The three vessels span a range of ages and technologies, from a 25-year-old monohull to a modern, high-speed catamaran built only four years ago. By looking at a range of technologies, vessel designs, and service conditions, a sense of the broader implications of controlling emissions from passenger ferries across a range of vessels and service profiles is provided. Tier 2-certified engines are the most cost-effective choice, but all options are cost-effective relative to other emission control strategies already in place in the transportation system.

Information system technologies' role in augmenting dermatologists' knowledge of prescription medication costs.

Science.gov (United States)

DeMarco, Sebastian S; Paul, Ravi; Kilpatrick, Russell J

2015-12-01

Despite the recent rising costs of once affordable dermatologic prescription medications, a survey measuring dermatologists' attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of the cost of drugs they commonly prescribe has not been conducted. Awareness of drug costs is hindered by a lack of access to data about the prices of medicines. No surveys of physicians have addressed this issue by proposing new information system technologies that augment prescription medication price transparency and measuring how receptive physicians are to using these novel solutions in their daily clinical practice. Our research aims to investigate these topics with a survey of physicians in dermatology. Members of the North Carolina Dermatology Association were contacted through their electronic mailing list and asked to take an online survey. The survey asked several questions about dermatologists' attitudes and beliefs about drug costs. To measure their knowledge of prescription medications, the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost was used as an authoritative price that was compared to the survey takers' price estimates of drugs commonly used in dermatology. Physicians' willingness to use four distinct information system technologies that increase drug price transparency was also assessed. Dermatologists believe drug costs are an important factor in patient care and believe access to price information would allow them to provide a higher quality of care. Dermatologists' knowledge of the costs of medicines they commonly prescribe is poor, but they want to utilize information system technologies that increase access to drug pricing information. There is an unmet demand for information system technologies which increase price transparency of medications in dermatology. Physicians and IT professionals have the opportunity to create novel information systems that can be utilized to help guide cost conscious clinical decision making. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decommissioning of Swedish nuclear power reactors. Technology and costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-06-01

The main topics discussed are planning, technology and costs of decommissioning nuclear power reactors. Oskarshamn-3 (BWR) and Ringhals-4 (PWR) have been used as reference reactors. 29 refs, figs, tabs

Cost function estimates, scale economies and technological progress in the Turkish electricity generation sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali Akkemik, K.

2009-01-01

Turkish electricity sector has undergone significant institutional changes since 1984. The recent developments since 2001 including the setting up of a regulatory agency to undertake the regulation of the sector and increasing participation of private investors in the field of electricity generation are of special interest. This paper estimates cost functions and investigates the degree of scale economies, overinvestment, and technological progress in the Turkish electricity generation sector for the period 1984-2006 using long-run and short-run translog cost functions. Estimations were done for six groups of firms, public and private. The results indicate existence of scale economies throughout the period of analysis, hence declining long-run average costs. The paper finds empirical support for the Averch-Johnson effect until 2001, i.e., firms overinvested in an environment where there are excess returns to capital. But this effect was reduced largely after 2002. Technological progress deteriorated slightly from 1984-1993 to 1994-2001 but improved after 2002. Overall, the paper found that regulation of the market under the newly established regulating agency after 2002 was effective and there are potential gains from such regulation. (author)

Cost estimating for CERCLA remedial alternatives a unit cost methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brettin, R.W.; Carr, D.J.; Janke, R.J.

1995-06-01

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance for Conducting Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Studies Under CERCLA, Interim Final, dated October 1988 (EPA 1988) requires a detailed analysis be conducted of the most promising remedial alternatives against several evaluation criteria, including cost. To complete the detailed analysis, order-of-magnitude cost estimates (having an accuracy of +50 percent to -30 percent) must be developed for each remedial alternative. This paper presents a methodology for developing cost estimates of remedial alternatives comprised of various technology and process options with a wide range of estimated contaminated media quantities. In addition, the cost estimating methodology provides flexibility for incorporating revisions to remedial alternatives and achieves the desired range of accuracy. It is important to note that the cost estimating methodology presented here was developed as a concurrent path to the development of contaminated media quantity estimates. This methodology can be initiated before contaminated media quantities are estimated. As a result, this methodology is useful in developing cost estimates for use in screening and evaluating remedial technologies and process options. However, remedial alternative cost estimates cannot be prepared without the contaminated media quantity estimates. In the conduct of the feasibility study for Operable Unit 5 at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP), fourteen remedial alternatives were retained for detailed analysis. Each remedial alternative was composed of combinations of remedial technologies and processes which were earlier determined to be best suited for addressing the media-specific contaminants found at the FEMP site, and achieving desired remedial action objectives

Techno-economic analysis of an autonomous power system integrating hydrogen technology as energy storage medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tzamalis, G. [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), RES and Hydrogen Technologies, 19th km Marathon Avenue, GR 19009 Pikermi (Greece); Laboratory of Fuels and Lubricants Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens (Greece); Zoulias, E.I.; Stamatakis, E.; Varkaraki, E. [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), RES and Hydrogen Technologies, 19th km Marathon Avenue, GR 19009 Pikermi (Greece); Lois, E.; Zannikos, F. [Laboratory of Fuels and Lubricants Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, 157 80 Athens (Greece)

2011-01-15

Two different options for the autonomous power supply of rural or/and remote buildings are examined in this study. The first one involves a PV - diesel based power system, while the second one integrates RES and hydrogen technologies for the development of a self - sustained power system. The main objective is the replacement of the diesel generator and a comparison between these two options for autonomous power supply. Model simulations of the two power systems before and after the replacement, an optimization of the component sizes and a techno - economic analysis have been performed for the purpose of this study. A sensitivity analysis taking into account future cost scenarios for hydrogen technologies is also presented. The results clearly show that the Cost of Energy Produced (COE) from the PV - hydrogen technologies power system is extremely higher than the PV - diesel power system. However, the adopted PV - hydrogen technologies power system reduces to zero the Green - House Gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis indicates that COE for the latter system can be further reduced by approximately 50% compared to its initial value. This could be achieved by reducing critical COE's parameters, such as PEM electrolyser and fuel cell capital costs. Hence, a possible reduction on the capital costs of hydrogen energy equipment in combination with emissions reduction mentioned above could make hydrogen - based power systems more competitive. (author)

Market diffusion, technological learning, and cost-benefit dynamics of condensing gas boilers in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weiss, M.; Dittmar, L.; Junginger, H.M.; Patel, M.K.; Blok, K.

2009-01-01

High costs often prevent the market diffusion of novel and efficient energy technologies. Monitoring cost and price decline for these technologies is thus important in order to establish effective energy policy. Here, we present experience curves and cost-benefit analyses for condensing gas boilers

The role of information technology (IT) in reducing offshore operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stern, M.J.

1993-01-01

The rapid changes in information technology (IT) and its application have helped to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs offshore. Developments in IT itself, in terms of technology, organization and standards together with cultural change have created new opportunities. In the application of IT, the most significant impact on operations costs and effectiveness has come from the use of information throughout the life cycle, and improved telecommunications. This paper describes recent developments in IT and its application, and cites examples where oil companies have derived major benefits

Cubesats: Cost-effective science and technology platforms for emerging and developing nations

Science.gov (United States)

Woellert, Kirk; Ehrenfreund, Pascale; Ricco, Antonio J.; Hertzfeld, Henry

2011-02-01

The development, operation, and analysis of data from cubesats can promote science education and spur technology utilization in emerging and developing nations. This platform offers uniquely low construction and launch costs together with a comparative ubiquity of launch providers; factors that have led more than 80 universities and several emerging nations to develop programs in this field. Their small size and weight enables cubesats to “piggyback” on rocket launches and accompany orbiters travelling to Moon and Mars. It is envisaged that constellations of cubesats will be used for larger science missions. We present a brief history, technology overview, and summary of applications in science and industry for these small satellites. Cubesat technical success stories are offered along with a summary of pitfalls and challenges encountered in both developed and emerging nations. A discussion of economic and public policy issues aims to facilitate the decision-making process for those considering utilization of this unique technology.

Exergy costs analysis of water desalination and purification techniques by transfer functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrasquer, Beatriz; Martínez-Gracia, Amaya; Uche, Javier

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A procedure to estimate the unit exergy cost of water treatment techniques is provided. • Unit exergy costs of water purification and desalination are given as a function of design and operating parameters. • Unit exergy costs range from 3.3 to 6.8 in purification and from 2 to 26 in desalination. • They could be used in their preliminary design as good indicators of their energy efficiency. - Abstract: The unit exergy costs of desalination and purification, which are two alternatives commonly used for water supply and treatment, have been characterized as a function of the energy efficiency of the process by combining the Exergy Cost Analysis with Transfer Function Analysis. An equation to assess the exergy costs of these alternatives is then proposed as a quick guide to know the energy efficiency of any water treatment process under different design and operating conditions. This combination, was satisfactory applied to groundwaters and water transfers. After identifying the boundaries of the system, input and output flows are calculated in exergy values. Next, different examples are analyzed in order to propose a generic equation to assess the exergy cost of the water restoration technologies, attending to their main features. Recovery ratio, energy requirements and salts concentrations (for desalination), and plant capacity and organic matter recovery (for water purification) are introduced in the calculations as their main endogenous parameters. Values obtained for typical operation ranges of commercial plants showed that unit exergy costs of water purification ranged from 3.3 to 6.8; maximum values, as expected, were found at low plant capacities and high organic matter removal ratios. For water desalination, values varied from 2 to 7 in membrane technologies and from 10 to 26 in thermal processes. The recovery ratio and salts concentration in raw water increased the unit exergy costs in membrane techniques. In distillation processes

Integrating state-of-the-science technology for a cost-effective hazardous waste site characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhr, C.A.; Dickerson, K.S.; Korte, N.E.

1993-01-01

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Environmental Technology Section in Grand Junction, Colorado has performed numerous hazardous waste site characterization since 1985. One of the most costly aspects of site characterization is the installation of groundwater monitoring wells and the subsequent long-term sampling and analysis costs. By optimizing the location of monitoring wells, better information can be obtained from fewer points, resulting in considerable cost savings to the project. A number of different screening techniques can be used prior to monitoring well installation allowing optimal well and soil-boring placement. Additionally, these screening techniques can provide a large amount of data in a small area to provide insight into local heterogeneities in the subsurface. Several screening techniques have been used by ORNL to accomplish these goals including: (1) geophysical surveys (electromagnetic and magnetic) conducted with the UltraSonic Ranging and Data System (USRADS reg-sign), (2) installation of temporary monitoring wells, (3) analysis of samples in the field with a gas chromatograph (GC), and (4) use of the colloidal borescope for determining groundwater flow directions and velocities

What Do Information Technology Support Services Really Cost?

Science.gov (United States)

Leach, Karen; Smallen, David

1998-01-01

A study examined the cost of information-technology support services in higher education institutions. The report describes the project's origins and work to date and reports initial results in three areas: network services, desktop repair services, and administrative information systems, looking in each case at economies of scale, outsourcing…

A cost-effectiveness analysis of shipboard telemedicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoloff, P H; Garcia, F E; Thomason, J E; Shia, D S

1998-01-01

The U.S. Navy is considering the installation of telemedicine equipment on more than 300 ships. Besides improving the quality of care, benefits would arise from avoiding medical evacuations (MEDEVACs) and returning patients to work more quickly. Because telemedicine has not yet been fully implemented by the Navy, we relied on projections of anticipated savings and costs, rather than actual expenditures, to determine cost-effectiveness. To determine the demand for telemedicine and the cost-effectiveness of various technologies (telephone and fax, e-mail and Internet, video teleconferencing (VTC), teleradiology, and diagnostic instruments), as well as their bandwidth requirements. A panel of Navy medical experts with telemedicine experience reviewed a representative sample of patient visits collected over a 1-year period and estimated the man-day savings and quality-of-care enhancements that might have occurred had telemedicine technologies been available. The savings from potentially avoiding MEDEVACs was estimated from a survey of ships' medical staff. These sample estimates were then projected to the medical workload of the entire fleet. Off-the-shelf telemedicine equipment prices were combined with installation, maintenance, training, and communication costs to obtain the lifecycle costs of the technology. If telemedicine were available to the fleet, ship medical staffs would initiate nearly 19, 000 consults in a year-7% of all patient visits. Telemedicine would enhance quality of care in two-thirds of these consults. Seventeen percent of the MEDEVACs would be preventable with telemedicine (representing 155,000 travel miles), with a savings of $4400 per MEDEVAC. If the ship's communication capabilities were available, e-mail and Internet and telephone and fax would be cost-effective on all ships (including small ships and submarines). Video teleconferencing would be cost-effective on large ships (aircraft carriers and amphibious) only. Teleradiology would be cost

Appraising the Cost Efficiency of Higher Technological and Vocational Education Institutions in Taiwan Using the Metafrontier Cost-Function Model

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yung-Hsiang; Chen, Ku-Hsieh

2013-01-01

This paper aims at appraising the cost efficiency and technology of institutions of higher technological and vocational education. Differing from conventional literature, it considers the potential influence of inherent discrepancies in output quality and characteristics of school systems for institutes of technology (ITs) and universities of…

Life cycle cost analysis of alternative vehicles and fuels in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goedecke, Martin; Therdthianwong, Supaporn; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

2007-01-01

High crude oil prices and pollution problems have drawn attention to alternative vehicle technologies and fuels for the transportation sector. The question is: What are the benefits/costs of these technologies for society? To answer this question in a quantitative way, a web-based model (http://vehiclesandfuels.memebot.com) has been developed to calculate the societal life cycle costs, the consumer life cycle costs and the tax for different vehicle technologies. By comparing these costs it is possible to draw conclusions about the social benefit and the related tax structure. The model should help to guide decisions toward optimality, which refers to maximum social benefit. The model was applied to the case of Thailand. The life cycle cost of 13 different alternative vehicle technologies in Thailand have been calculated and the tax structure analyzed

Modelling User-Costs in Life Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle

2008-01-01

The importance of including user's costs in Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit analysis of structures is discussed in this paper. This is especially for bridges of great importance. Repair or/and failure of a bridge will usually result in user costs greater than the repair or replacement costs of the bridge...

Heat savings and heat generation technologies: Modelling of residential investment behaviour with local health costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zvingilaite, Erika; Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

2015-01-01

The trade-off between investing in energy savings and investing in individual heating technologies with high investment and low variable costs in single family houses is modelled for a number of building and consumer categories in Denmark. For each group the private economic cost of providing heating comfort is minimised. The private solution may deviate from the socio-economical optimal solution and we suggest changes to policy to incentivise the individuals to make choices more in line with the socio-economic optimal mix of energy savings and technologies. The households can combine their primary heating source with secondary heating e.g. a woodstove. This choice results in increased indoor air pollution with fine particles causing health effects. We integrate health cost due to use of woodstoves into household optimisation of heating expenditures. The results show that due to a combination of low costs of primary fuel and low environmental performance of woodstoves today, included health costs lead to decreased use of secondary heating. Overall the interdependence of heat generation technology- and heat saving-choice is significant. The total optimal level of heat savings for private consumers decrease by 66% when all have the option to shift to the technology with lowest variable costs. - Highlights: • Heat saving investment and heat technology choice are interdependent. • Health damage costs should be included in private heating choice optimisation. • Flexibility in heating technology choice reduce the optimal level of saving investments. • Models of private and socioeconomic optimal heating produce different technology mix. • Rebound effects are moderate but varies greatly among consumer categories

Incorporating psychological influences in probabilistic cost analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kujawski, Edouard; Alvaro, Mariana; Edwards, William

2004-01-08

Today's typical probabilistic cost analysis assumes an ''ideal'' project that is devoid of the human and organizational considerations that heavily influence the success and cost of real-world projects. In the real world ''Money Allocated Is Money Spent'' (MAIMS principle); cost underruns are rarely available to protect against cost overruns while task overruns are passed on to the total project cost. Realistic cost estimates therefore require a modified probabilistic cost analysis that simultaneously models the cost management strategy including budget allocation. Psychological influences such as overconfidence in assessing uncertainties and dependencies among cost elements and risks are other important considerations that are generally not addressed. It should then be no surprise that actual project costs often exceed the initial estimates and are delivered late and/or with a reduced scope. This paper presents a practical probabilistic cost analysis model that incorporates recent findings in human behavior and judgment under uncertainty, dependencies among cost elements, the MAIMS principle, and project management practices. Uncertain cost elements are elicited from experts using the direct fractile assessment method and fitted with three-parameter Weibull distributions. The full correlation matrix is specified in terms of two parameters that characterize correlations among cost elements in the same and in different subsystems. The analysis is readily implemented using standard Monte Carlo simulation tools such as {at}Risk and Crystal Ball{reg_sign}. The analysis of a representative design and engineering project substantiates that today's typical probabilistic cost analysis is likely to severely underestimate project cost for probability of success values of importance to contractors and procuring activities. The proposed approach provides a framework for developing a viable cost management strategy for

A Nuclear Waste Management Cost Model for Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, R. W.; Hill, M. C.

2017-12-01

Although integrated assessments of climate change policy have frequently identified nuclear energy as a promising alternative to fossil fuels, these studies have often treated nuclear waste disposal very simply. Simple assumptions about nuclear waste are problematic because they may not be adequate to capture relevant costs and uncertainties, which could result in suboptimal policy choices. Modeling nuclear waste management costs is a cross-disciplinary, multi-scale problem that involves economic, geologic and environmental processes that operate at vastly different temporal scales. Similarly, the climate-related costs and benefits of nuclear energy are dependent on environmental sensitivity to CO2 emissions and radiation, nuclear energy's ability to offset carbon emissions, and the risk of nuclear accidents, factors which are all deeply uncertain. Alternative value systems further complicate the problem by suggesting different approaches to valuing intergenerational impacts. Effective policy assessment of nuclear energy requires an integrated approach to modeling nuclear waste management that (1) bridges disciplinary and temporal gaps, (2) supports an iterative, adaptive process that responds to evolving understandings of uncertainties, and (3) supports a broad range of value systems. This work develops the Nuclear Waste Management Cost Model (NWMCM). NWMCM provides a flexible framework for evaluating the cost of nuclear waste management across a range of technology pathways and value systems. We illustrate how NWMCM can support policy analysis by estimating how different nuclear waste disposal scenarios developed using the NWMCM framework affect the results of a recent integrated assessment study of alternative energy futures and their effects on the cost of achieving carbon abatement targets. Results suggest that the optimism reflected in previous works is fragile: Plausible nuclear waste management costs and discount rates appropriate for intergenerational cost

Transforming Learning through Technology: Educating More, Costing Less

Science.gov (United States)

Twigg, Carol A.

2011-01-01

Face-to-face instruction has been held as the gold standard of a quality academic program. But using information technology to redesign traditional courses can actually improve the quality of teaching, cut costs, and improve access and success. A strong redesign often involves active learning opportunities; individualized, on-demand assistance; a…

Cost-effectiveness analysis of treating transplant-eligible multiple myeloma patients in Macedonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qerimi V

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Vjollca Qerimi,1,2 Aleksandra Kapedanovska Nestorovska,1 Zoran Sterjev,1 Sonja Genadieva-Stavric,3 Ljubica Suturkova1 1Faculty of Pharmacy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Skopje, Macedonia; 2Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT – University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Hall in Tirol, Austria; 3Medical Faculty, University Hematology Clinic, Skopje, Macedonia Purpose: A decision-analytic model was developed to study the impact of induction regimens vincristine, adriamycin, dexamethasone (VAD; thalidomide, dexamethasone (TD; and bortezomib, dexamethasone (BorD, followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT for treating multiple myeloma (MM patients in Macedonia. Additionally, a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA of treatment sequences to predict health effects and costs of different treatment sequences was performed.Methods: Model strategies were based on a previously published study for treating patients with MM in Macedonia. The data on disease progression and treatment effectiveness were obtained from the published reports of randomized clinical trials (GIMEMA M-B02005, IFM 2005-01. Utility parameters were extracted from the literature. To compare treatment combinations, a decision tree model was developed. Additionally, a cost analysis for one-time per-protocol costs was performed from a Macedonian national health care perspective. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs/quality-adjusted life years (QALYs gained for 1-, 10-, and 20-year time horizons were determined. Costs and health outcomes were discounted to evaluate the effects of time in the model.Results: The one-time costs of BorD (EUR 5,656 were higher compared to VAD (EUR 303 and TD (EUR 329, increasing the overall costs for BorD. Thus, the BorD combination dominated in the baseline

Techno-economic analysis of concentrated solar power plants in terms of levelized cost of electricity

Science.gov (United States)

Musi, Richard; Grange, Benjamin; Sgouridis, Sgouris; Guedez, Rafael; Armstrong, Peter; Slocum, Alexander; Calvet, Nicolas

2017-06-01

Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) is an important metric which provides one way to compare the economic competitiveness of different electricity generation systems, calculated simply by dividing lifetime costs by lifetime production. Hidden behind the simplicity of this formula are various assumptions which may significantly alter results. Different LCOE studies exist in the literature, although their assumptions are rarely explicitly stated. This analysis gives all formulas and assumptions which allow for inter-study comparisons. The results of this analysis indicate that CSP LCOE is reducing markedly over time and that given the right location and market conditions, the SunShot 6¢/kWh 2020 target can be reached. Increased industrial cooperation is needed to advance the CSP market and continue to drive down LCOE. The results also indicate that there exist a country and technology level learning effect, either when installing an existing CSP technology in a new country or when using a new technology in an existing CSP country, which seems to impact market progress.

Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bill Stanley; Sandra Brown; Patrick Gonzalez; Zoe Kant; Gilberto Tiepolo; Wilber Sabido; Ellen Hawes; Jenny Henman; Miguel Calmon; Michael Ebinger

2004-07-10

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects, providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas impacts. The research described in this report occurred between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: remote sensing for carbon analysis; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.

An application of a grey data envelopment analysis model to the risk comparative analysis among power generation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, Pauli A.A.; Melo, P.F. Frutuoso e

2005-01-01

The comparative risk analysis is a technique for which one seeks equilibrium among benefits, costs, and risks associated with common-purpose activities performed. In light of the ever-growing world demand for a sustainable power supply, we present in this paper a comparison among different power generation technologies. The data for the comparative analyses has been taken from the literature. A hybrid approach is proposed for performing the comparisons, in which the Grey System Theory and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are combined. The purpose of this combination is to take into account different features that influence the risk analysis, when one aims to compare different power generation technologies. The generation technologies considered here are: solar, biomass, wind, hydroelectric, oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear. The criteria considered in the analysis are: contribution to the life expectancy reduction (in years); contribution to the life expectancy growth (in years); used area (in km 2 ); tons of released CO 2 per GWh generated. The results obtained by using the aforementioned approach are promising and demonstrate the advantages of the Grey-DEA approach for the problem at hand. The results show that investments in the nuclear and solar power generation technologies are the options that present the best relative efficiencies, that is, among all considered options, they presented the best cost-benefit-risk relationships. (author)

New technology adoption for Russian energy generation: What does it cost? A case study for Moscow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bratanova, Alexandra; Robinson, Jacqueline; Wagner, Liam

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Power generation cost is modelled for a Russian region under two gas price scenarios. • Conventional, new and renewable technologies are compared based on levelised cost. • Regional energy system is shown to be crucially dependent on natural gas prices. • We conclude that new gas-fired technology adoption is feasible and cost-competitive. • Biomass demonstrates cost competitiveness, whereas solar appears infeasible. - Abstract: Russia is frequently referred to as a country with substantial energy efficiency and renewable energy potential. In 2000–2008 energy-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios were improved by 35%, however, the contribution of technological progress accounts for only 1% of the energy-GDP ratio reduction. At the same time, although new policy mechanisms to stimulate renewable energy development have been recently introduced, renewable technology deployment has not yet taken off. Economic theory suggests that there is no better incentive for industry development than cost signals. This paper adapts the levelised cost of energy methodology to examine the cost structures associated with electricity generation by conventional and new technology types for a Russian region (Moscow). The model, run for two fuel price scenarios, allowed us to conclude that the regional energy supply system is heavily dependent on the natural gas price and that the diversification provided by technology development will be beneficial for the energy security of the region. We conclude that new and renewable technologies become cost-effective for electricity generation as domestic natural gas prices reach parity with export prices. However, strong political and financial support is needed to boost technological development and renewables application in Russia.

Cost-effectiveness study of nitrate therapy using a decision analysis methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Larrat, E P

1994-04-01

The cost-assessment technology of decision analysis was applied to isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), the standard therapy for angina; isosorbide mononitrate (ISMO), approved mid-1992; and nitroglycerin patches to measure the effect of economics on clinical practice and administrative choices. The evaluation was conducted to illustrate the utility of this method for decision makers in various sectors of the health care system, including physicians, pharmacy benefit administrators, formulary committees, and manufacturers. Findings indicate that despite a higher unit cost for ISMO, total anticipated treatment costs with this new long-acting nitrate are lower than those associated with ISDN (28%) and nitroglycerin patch (16%) therapy in patients with stable angina, and ISMO requires less dosing titration and is associated with fewer tolerance effects.

Cost-benefit analysis of nZEB energy efficiency strategies with on-site photovoltaic generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pikas, Ergo; Kurnitski, Jarek; Thalfeldt, Martin; Koskela, Lauri

2017-01-01

Many studies on the deployment of and investment in renewable energy (RE) technologies have focused on job creation associated with energy production at the macroeconomic level and across renewable energy technologies. We propose another perspective, the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology to attain a nearly zero-energy building (nZEB) class. The aim of this research is to investigate the costs and benefits for private and public entities when constructing nZEB or adopting nZEB policies. A quantitative research approach is taken when modelling required PV capacities, net present cash flows, subsidies, and job generation. Findings show that at current electricity tariffs and solar PV system capacities and production levels, single family houses, apartment buildings, and other building types require 0.044 €/kWh, 0.037 €/kWh, and 0.024 €/kWh, respectively, in government subsidies on energy sold back to the grid. Office buildings were profitable without the subsidy. In this study, we argue that investments in RE, specifically, PV technology, will bring in approximately 2.1 M€ of additional revenue to the Estonian government over a 20 years period as tax return overruns subsidies. However, nZEB investments are expected to become cost-optimal without subsidies, due to the increasing efficiency and decreasing costs of PV systems. - Highlights: • The paper provides a combination of approaches for PV cost-benefit analysis. • Investments in PV technology to obtain nZEB require government subsidies. • Work describes potential strategies for subsidizing or investing in PV technology. • Investments in PV technology benefit both private investors and public institutions.

Low-cost interferometric TDM technology for dynamic sensing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Jeff; Cekorich, Allen

2004-12-01

A low-cost design approach for Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) fiber-optic interferometric interrogation of multi-channel sensor arrays is presented. This paper describes the evolutionary design process of the subject design. First, the requisite elements of interferometric interrogation are defined for a single channel sensor. The concept is then extended to multi-channel sensor interrogation implementing a TDM multiplex scheme where "traditional" design elements are utilized. The cost of the traditional TDM interrogator is investigated and concluded to be too high for entry into many markets. A new design approach is presented which significantly reduces the cost for TDM interrogation. This new approach, in accordance with the cost objectives, shows promise to bring this technology to within the threshold of commercial acceptance for a wide range of distributed fiber sensing applications.

Costs and cost-effectiveness of periviable care.

Science.gov (United States)

Caughey, Aaron B; Burchfield, David J

2014-02-01

With increasing concerns regarding rapidly expanding healthcare costs, cost-effectiveness analysis allows assessment of whether marginal gains from new technology are worth the increased costs. Particular methodologic issues related to cost and cost-effectiveness analysis in the area of neonatal and periviable care include how costs are estimated, such as the use of charges and whether long-term costs are included; the challenges of measuring utilities; and whether to use a maternal, neonatal, or dual perspective in such analyses. A number of studies over the past three decades have examined the costs and the cost-effectiveness of neonatal and periviable care. Broadly, while neonatal care is costly, it is also cost effective as it produces both life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). However, as the gestational age of the neonate decreases, the costs increase and the cost-effectiveness threshold is harder to achieve. In the periviable range of gestational age (22-24 weeks of gestation), whether the care is cost effective is questionable and is dependent on the perspective. Understanding the methodology and salient issues of cost-effectiveness analysis is critical for researchers, editors, and clinicians to accurately interpret results of the growing body of cost-effectiveness studies related to the care of periviable pregnancies and neonates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparative life-cycle cost analysis for low-level mixed waste remediation alternatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, J.A.; White, T.P.; Kloeber, J.M.; Toland, R.J.; Cain, J.P.; Buitrago, D.Y.

1995-03-01

The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to develop a generic, life-cycle cost model for evaluating low-level, mixed waste remediation alternatives, and (2) to apply the model specifically, to estimate remediation costs for a site similar to the Fernald Environmental Management Project near Cincinnati, OH. Life-cycle costs for vitrification, cementation, and dry removal process technologies are estimated. Since vitrification is in a conceptual phase, computer simulation is used to help characterize the support infrastructure of a large scale vitrification plant. Cost estimating relationships obtained from the simulation data, previous cost estimates, available process data, engineering judgment, and expert opinion all provide input to an Excel based spreadsheet for generating cash flow streams. Crystal Ball, an Excel add-on, was used for discounting cash flows for net present value analysis. The resulting LCC data was then analyzed using multi-attribute decision analysis techniques with cost and remediation time as criteria. The analytical framework presented allows alternatives to be evaluated in the context of budgetary, social, and political considerations. In general, the longer the remediation takes, the lower the net present value of the process. This is true because of the time value of money and large percentage of the costs attributed to storage or disposal

Selected bibliography: cost and energy savings of conservation and renewable energy technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-05-01

This bibliography is a compilation of reports on the cost and energy savings of conservation and renewable energy applications throughout the United States. It is part of an overall effort to inform utilities of technological developments in conservation and renewable energy technologies and so aid utilities in their planning process to determine the most effective and economic combination of capital investments to meet customer needs. Department of Energy assessments of the applications, current costs and cost goals for the various technologies included in this bibliography are presented. These assessments are based on analyses performed by or for the respective DOE Program Offices. The results are sensitive to a number of variables and assumptions; however, the estimates presented are considered representative. These assessments are presented, followed by some conclusions regarding the potential role of the conservation and renewable energy alternative. The approach used to classify the bibliographic citations and abstracts is outlined.

Heat savings and heat generation technologies: Modelling of residential investment behaviour with local health costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zvingilaite, Erika; Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik

2015-01-01

The trade-off between investing in energy savings and investing in individual heating technologies with high investment and low variable costs in single family houses is modelled for a number of building and consumer categories in Denmark. For each group the private economic cost of providing hea...... for private consumers decrease by 66% when all have the option to shift to the technology with lowest variable costs. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All Rights reserved......The trade-off between investing in energy savings and investing in individual heating technologies with high investment and low variable costs in single family houses is modelled for a number of building and consumer categories in Denmark. For each group the private economic cost of providing...

Cost studies of thermally enhanced in situ soil remediation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bremser, J.; Booth, S.R.

1996-05-01

This report describes five thermally enhanced technologies that may be used to remediate contaminated soil and water resources. The standard methods of treating these contaminated areas are Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE), Excavate ampersand Treat (E ampersand T), and Pump ampersand Treat (P ampersand T). Depending on the conditions at a given site, one or more of these conventional alternatives may be employed; however, several new thermally enhanced technologies for soil decontamination are emerging. These technologies are still in demonstration programs which generally are showing great success at achieving the expected remediation results. The cost savings reported in this work assume that the technologies will ultimately perform as anticipated by their developers in a normal environmental restoration work environment. The five technologies analyzed in this report are Low Frequency Heating (LF or Ohmic, both 3 and 6 phase AC), Dynamic Underground Stripping (DUS), Radio Frequency Heating (RF), Radio Frequency Heating using Dipole Antennae (RFD), and Thermally Enhanced Vapor Extraction System (TEVES). In all of these technologies the introduction of heat to the formation raises vapor pressures accelerating contaminant evaporation rates and increases soil permeability raising diffusion rates of contaminants. The physical process enhancements resulting from temperature elevations permit a greater percentage of volatile organic compound (VOC) or semi- volatile organic compound (SVOC) contaminants to be driven out of the soils for treatment or capture in a much shorter time period. This report presents the results of cost-comparative studies between these new thermally enhanced technologies and the conventional technologies, as applied to five specific scenarios

Mission possible: creating a technology infrastructure to help reduce administrative costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Alper, Michael

2003-01-01

Controlling administrative costs associated with managed care benefits has traditionally been considered a "mission impossible" in healthcare, with the unreasonably high cost of paperwork and administration pushing past the $420 billion mark. Why administrative costs remain a critical problem in healthcare while other industries have alleviated their administrative burdens must be carefully examined. This article looks at the key factors contributing to high administrative costs and how these costs can be controlled in the future with "mission possible" tools, including business process outsourcing, IT outsourcing, technology that helps to bring "consumerism" to managed care, and an IT infrastructure that improves quality and outcomes.

Low cost construction technologies and materials - case study Mozambuique

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kuchena, JC

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Low cost or affordable construction technologies and materials are often touted as a panacea in meeting the ever growing demand for rapid housing delivery in developing economies. Mozambique as with most of the developing world, from both historical...

Decision-making on the integration of renewable energy in the mining industry: A case studies analysis, a cost analysis and a SWOT analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateryna Zharan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The mining industry is showing increasing interest in using renewable energy (RE technologies as one of the principles of sustainable mining. This is witnessed in several pilot projects in major mining countries around the world. Positive factors which favor this interest are gaining importance and negative barrier factors seem to be less relevant. For a mine operator, the switch from fossil fuel to RE technologies is the outcome of decision making processes. So far, research about such decision making on the use of RE in mining is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper to present a practical decision rule based on a principle of indifference between RE and fossil fuel technologies and on appropriate time management. To achieve this objective, three investigations are made: (i a case studies analysis, (ii a comparative cost analysis, and (iii a SWOT analysis.

Technological Minimalism: A Cost-Effective Alternative for Course Design and Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzo, George

2001-01-01

Discusses the use of minimum levels of technology, or technological minimalism, for Web-based multimedia course content. Highlights include cost effectiveness; problems with video streaming, the use of XML for Web pages, and Flash and Java applets; listservs instead of proprietary software; and proper faculty training. (LRW)

A sensitivity analysis of process design parameters, commodity prices and robustness on the economics of odour abatement technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Estrada, José M; Kraakman, N J R Bart; Lebrero, Raquel; Muñoz, Raúl

2012-01-01

The sensitivity of the economics of the five most commonly applied odour abatement technologies (biofiltration, biotrickling filtration, activated carbon adsorption, chemical scrubbing and a hybrid technology consisting of a biotrickling filter coupled with carbon adsorption) towards design parameters and commodity prices was evaluated. Besides, the influence of the geographical location on the Net Present Value calculated for a 20 years lifespan (NPV20) of each technology and its robustness towards typical process fluctuations and operational upsets were also assessed. This comparative analysis showed that biological techniques present lower operating costs (up to 6 times) and lower sensitivity than their physical/chemical counterparts, with the packing material being the key parameter affecting their operating costs (40-50% of the total operating costs). The use of recycled or partially treated water (e.g. secondary effluent in wastewater treatment plants) offers an opportunity to significantly reduce costs in biological techniques. Physical/chemical technologies present a high sensitivity towards H2S concentration, which is an important drawback due to the fluctuating nature of malodorous emissions. The geographical analysis evidenced high NPV20 variations around the world for all the technologies evaluated, but despite the differences in wage and price levels, biofiltration and biotrickling filtration are always the most cost-efficient alternatives (NPV20). When, in an economical evaluation, the robustness is as relevant as the overall costs (NPV20), the hybrid technology would move up next to BTF as the most preferred technologies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A DDC Bibliography on Cost/Benefits of Technical Information Services and Technology Transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Defense Documentation Center, Alexandria, VA.

This bibliography is a compilation of literature existing in both the government and public sectors and concerning Cost/Benefits of Technical information Services and Technology Transfer. Not only was the cost-benefit to the user reflected, but consideration was given to the initial cost of information collections, the cost of processing the…

Instructional Cost Analysis: History and Present Inadequacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrey, David A.

The cost analysis of instruction is conducted according to principles of teaching and learning that have often become historically dated. Using today's costing systems prevents determination of whether cost effectiveness actually exists. The patterns of instruction in higher education and the systems employed for instructional cost analysis are…

Cost of New Technologies in Prostate Cancer Treatment: Systematic Review of Costs and Cost Effectiveness of Robotic-assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy, Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy, and Proton Beam Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeck, Florian Rudolf; Jacobs, Bruce L; Bhayani, Sam B; Nguyen, Paul L; Penson, David; Hu, Jim

2017-11-01

Some of the high costs of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and proton beam therapy may be offset by better outcomes or less resource use during the treatment episode. To systematically review the literature to identify the key economic trade-offs implicit in a particular treatment choice for prostate cancer. We systematically reviewed the literature according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement and protocol. We searched Medline, Embase, and Web of Science for articles published between January 2001 and July 2016, which compared the treatment costs of RARP, IMRT, or proton beam therapy to the standard treatment. We identified 37, nine, and three studies, respectively. RARP is costlier than radical retropubic prostatectomy for hospitals and payers. However, RARP has the potential for a moderate cost advantage for payers and society over a longer time horizon when optimal cancer and quality-of-life outcomes are achieved. IMRT is more expensive from a payer's perspective compared with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, but also more cost effective when defined by an incremental cost effectiveness ratio new versus traditional technologies is costlier. However, given the low quality of evidence and the inconsistencies across studies, the precise difference in costs remains unclear. Attempts to estimate whether this increased cost is worth the expense are hampered by the uncertainty surrounding improvements in outcomes, such as cancer control and side effects of treatment. If the new technologies can consistently achieve better outcomes, then they may be cost effective. We review the cost and cost effectiveness of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and proton beam therapy in prostate cancer treatment. These technologies are costlier than their traditional counterparts. It remains unclear whether their use is associated

Innovative manufacturing technologies for low-cost, high efficiency PERC-based PV modules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yelundur, Vijay [Suniva Inc., Norcross, GA (United States)

2017-04-19

The goal this project was to accelerate the deployment of innovative solar cell and module technologies that reduce the cost of PERC-based modules to best-in-class. New module integration technology was to be used to reduce the cost and reliance on conventional silver bus bar pastes and enhance cell efficiency. On the cell manufacturing front, the cost of PERC solar cells was to be reduced by introducing advanced metallization approaches to increase cell efficiency. These advancements will be combined with process optimization to target cell efficiencies in the range of 21 to 21.5%. This project will also explore the viability of a bifacial PERC solar cell design to enable cost savings through the use of thin silicon wafers. This project was terminated on 4/30/17 after four months of activity due financial challenges facing the recipient.

24 CFR 965.402 - Benefit/cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Benefit/cost analysis. 965.402...-Owned Projects § 965.402 Benefit/cost analysis. (a) A benefit/cost analysis shall be made to determine... (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN...

A study of the cost-effective markets for new technology agricultural aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Hazelrigg, G. A., Jr.; Clyne, F.

1979-01-01

A previously developed data base was used to estimate the regional and total U.S. cost-effective markets for a new technology agricultural aircraft as incorporating features which could result from NASA-sponsored aerial applications research. The results show that the long-term market penetration of a new technology aircraft would be near 3,000 aircraft. This market penetration would be attained in approximately 20 years. Annual sales would be about 200 aircraft after 5 to 6 years of introduction. The net present value of cost savings benefit which this aircraft would yield (measured on an infinite horizon basis) would be about $35 million counted at a 10 percent discount rate and $120 million at a 5 percent discount rate. At both discount rates the present value of cost savings exceeds the present value of research and development (R&D) costs estimated for the development of the technology base needed for the proposed aircraft. These results are quite conservative as they have been derived neglecting future growth in the agricultural aviation industry, which has been averaging about 12 percent per year over the past several years.

Cost Analysis of MRI Services in Iran: An Application of Activity Based Costing Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayati, Mohsen; Mahboub Ahari, Alireza; Badakhshan, Abbas; Gholipour, Mahin; Joulaei, Hassan

2015-01-01

Considerable development of MRI technology in diagnostic imaging, high cost of MRI technology and controversial issues concerning official charges (tariffs) have been the main motivations to define and implement this study. The present study aimed to calculate the unit-cost of MRI services using activity-based costing (ABC) as a modern cost accounting system and to fairly compare calculated unit-costs with official charges (tariffs). We included both direct and indirect costs of MRI services delivered in fiscal year 2011 in Shiraz Shahid Faghihi hospital. Direct allocation method was used for distribution of overhead costs. We used micro-costing approach to calculate unit-cost of all different MRI services. Clinical cost data were retrieved from the hospital registering system. Straight-line method was used for depreciation cost estimation. To cope with uncertainty and to increase the robustness of study results, unit costs of 33 MRI services was calculated in terms of two scenarios. Total annual cost of MRI activity center (AC) was calculated at USD 400,746 and USD 532,104 based on first and second scenarios, respectively. Ten percent of the total cost was allocated from supportive departments. The annual variable costs of MRI center were calculated at USD 295,904. Capital costs measured at USD 104,842 and USD 236, 200 resulted from the first and second scenario, respectively. Existing tariffs for more than half of MRI services were above the calculated costs. As a public hospital, there are considerable limitations in both financial and administrative databases of Shahid Faghihi hospital. Labor cost has the greatest share of total annual cost of Shahid Faghihi hospital. The gap between unit costs and tariffs implies that the claim for extra budget from health providers may not be relevant for all services delivered by the studied MRI center. With some adjustments, ABC could be implemented in MRI centers. With the settlement of a reliable cost accounting system

Cost Analysis of MRI Services in Iran: An Application of Activity Based Costing Technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayati, Mohsen; Mahboub Ahari, Alireza; Badakhshan, Abbas; Gholipour, Mahin; Joulaei, Hassan

2015-10-01

Considerable development of MRI technology in diagnostic imaging, high cost of MRI technology and controversial issues concerning official charges (tariffs) have been the main motivations to define and implement this study. The present study aimed to calculate the unit-cost of MRI services using activity-based costing (ABC) as a modern cost accounting system and to fairly compare calculated unit-costs with official charges (tariffs). We included both direct and indirect costs of MRI services delivered in fiscal year 2011 in Shiraz Shahid Faghihi hospital. Direct allocation method was used for distribution of overhead costs. We used micro-costing approach to calculate unit-cost of all different MRI services. Clinical cost data were retrieved from the hospital registering system. Straight-line method was used for depreciation cost estimation. To cope with uncertainty and to increase the robustness of study results, unit costs of 33 MRI services was calculated in terms of two scenarios. Total annual cost of MRI activity center (AC) was calculated at USD 400,746 and USD 532,104 based on first and second scenarios, respectively. Ten percent of the total cost was allocated from supportive departments. The annual variable costs of MRI center were calculated at USD 295,904. Capital costs measured at USD 104,842 and USD 236, 200 resulted from the first and second scenario, respectively. Existing tariffs for more than half of MRI services were above the calculated costs. As a public hospital, there are considerable limitations in both financial and administrative databases of Shahid Faghihi hospital. Labor cost has the greatest share of total annual cost of Shahid Faghihi hospital. The gap between unit costs and tariffs implies that the claim for extra budget from health providers may not be relevant for all services delivered by the studied MRI center. With some adjustments, ABC could be implemented in MRI centers. With the settlement of a reliable cost accounting system

Cost and performance analysis of physical security systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, M.J.; Yates, D.; Jago, W.H.; Phillips, A.W.

1998-04-01

Analysis of cost and performance of physical security systems can be a complex, multi-dimensional problem. There are a number of point tools that address various aspects of cost and performance analysis. Increased interest in cost tradeoffs of physical security alternatives has motivated development of an architecture called Cost and Performance Analysis (CPA), which takes a top-down approach to aligning cost and performance metrics. CPA incorporates results generated by existing physical security system performance analysis tools, and utilizes an existing cost analysis tool. The objective of this architecture is to offer comprehensive visualization of complex data to security analysts and decision-makers

Ethical analysis to improve decision-making on health technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saarni, Samuli I; Hofmann, Bjørn; Lampe, Kristian

2008-01-01

beyond effectiveness and costs to also considering the social, organizational and ethical implications of technologies. However, a commonly accepted method for analysing the ethical aspects of health technologies is lacking. This paper describes a model for ethical analysis of health technology...... that is easy and flexible to use in different organizational settings and cultures. The model is part of the EUnetHTA project, which focuses on the transferability of HTAs between countries. The EUnetHTA ethics model is based on the insight that the whole HTA process is value laden. It is not sufficient...... to only analyse the ethical consequences of a technology, but also the ethical issues of the whole HTA process must be considered. Selection of assessment topics, methods and outcomes is essentially a value-laden decision. Health technologies may challenge moral or cultural values and beliefs...

In search of low cost biological analysis: Wax or acrylic glue bonded paper microfluidic devices

KAUST Repository

Kodzius, Rimantas

2011-01-01

In this body of work we have been developing and characterizing paper based microfluidic fabrication technologies to produce low cost biological analysis. Specifically we investigated the performance of paper microfluidics that had been bonded using wax o

In search of low cost biological analysis: Wax or acrylic glue bonded paper microfluidic devices

KAUST Repository

Kodzius, Rimantas

2011-11-04

In this body of work we have been developing and characterizing paper based microfluidic fabrication technologies to produce low cost biological analysis. Specifically we investigated the performance of paper microfluidics that had been bonded using wax o

SSTO vs TSTO design considerations—an assessment of the overall performance, design considerations, technologies, costs, and sensitivities of SSTO and TSTO designs using modern technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Penn, Jay P.

1996-03-01

It is generally believed by those skilled in launch system design that Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) designs are more technically challenging, more performance sensitive, and yield larger lift-off weights than do Two-Stage-To-Orbit designs (TSTO's) offering similar payload delivery capability. Without additional insight into the other considerations which drive the development, recurring costs, operability, and reliability of a launch fleet, an analyst may easily conclude that the higher performing, less sensitive TSTO designs, thus yield a better solution to achieving low cost payload delivery. This limited insight could justify an argument to eliminate the X-33 SSTO technology/demonstration development effort, and thus proceed directly to less risky TSTO designs. Insight into real world design considerations of launch vehicles makes the choice of SSTO vs TSTO much less clear. The presentation addresses a more comprehensive evaluation of the general class of SSTO and TSTO concepts. These include pure SSTO's, augmented SSTO's, Siamese Twin, and Pure TSTO designs. The assessment considers vehicle performance and scaling relationships which characterize real vehicle designs. The assessment also addresses technology requirements, operations and supportability, cost implications, and sensitivities. Results of the assessment indicate that the trade space between various SSTO and TSTO design approaches is complex and not yet fully understood. The results of the X-33 technology demonstrators, as well as additional parametric analysis is required to better define the relative performance and costs of the various design approaches. The results also indicate that with modern technologies and today's better understanding of vehicle design considerations, the perception that SSTO's are dramatically heavier and more sensitive than TSTO designs is more of a myth, than reality.

Analysis of Fuel Cell Markets in Japan and the US: Experience Curve Development and Cost Reduction Disaggregation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei, Max [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Smith, Sarah J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sohn, Michael D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-07-15

Fuel cells are both a longstanding and emerging technology for stationary and transportation applications, and their future use will likely be critical for the deep decarbonization of global energy systems. As we look into future applications, a key challenge for policy-makers and technology market forecasters who seek to track and/or accelerate their market adoption is the ability to forecast market costs of the fuel cells as technology innovations are incorporated into market products. Specifically, there is a need to estimate technology learning rates, which are rates of cost reduction versus production volume. Unfortunately, no literature exists for forecasting future learning rates for fuel cells. In this paper, we look retrospectively to estimate learning rates for two fuel cell deployment programs: (1) the micro-combined heat and power (CHP) program in Japan, and (2) the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) in California. These two examples have a relatively broad set of historical market data and thus provide an informative and international comparison of distinct fuel cell technologies and government deployment programs. We develop a generalized procedure for disaggregating experience-curve cost-reductions in order to disaggregate the Japanese fuel cell micro-CHP market into its constituent components, and we derive and present a range of learning rates that may explain observed market trends. Finally, we explore the differences in the technology development ecosystem and market conditions that may have contributed to the observed differences in cost reduction and draw policy observations for the market adoption of future fuel cell technologies. The scientific and policy contributions of this paper are the first comparative experience curve analysis of past fuel cell technologies in two distinct markets, and the first quantitative comparison of a detailed cost model of fuel cell systems with actual market data. The resulting approach is applicable to

Strategic Technology Investment Analysis: An Integrated System Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Adumitroaie, V.; Weisbin, C. R.

2010-01-01

Complex technology investment decisions within NASA are increasingly difficult to make such that the end results are satisfying the technical objectives and all the organizational constraints. Due to a restricted science budget environment and numerous required technology developments, the investment decisions need to take into account not only the functional impact on the program goals, but also development uncertainties and cost variations along with maintaining a healthy workforce. This paper describes an approach for optimizing and qualifying technology investment portfolios from the perspective of an integrated system model. The methodology encompasses multi-attribute decision theory elements and sensitivity analysis. The evaluation of the degree of robustness of the recommended portfolio provides the decision-maker with an array of viable selection alternatives, which take into account input uncertainties and possibly satisfy nontechnical constraints. The methodology is presented in the context of assessing capability development portfolios for NASA technology programs.

Cost and Systems Analysis of Innovative Fuel Resources Concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, Erich [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program; Byers, M. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program

2017-05-04

Economically recovered uranium from seawater can have a transformative effect on the way policy makers view the long-term viability of uranium based fuel cycles. Seawater uranium, even when estimated to cost more than terrestrially mined uranium, is integral in establishing an economic backstop, thus reducing uncertainty in future nuclear power costs. While a passive recovery scheme relying on a field of polymer adsorbents prepared via radiation induced grafting has long been considered the leading technology for full scale deployment, non-trivial cost and logistical barriers persist. Consequently, university partners of the nation-wide consortium for seawater uranium recovery have developed variants of this technology, each aiming to address a substantial weakness. The focus of this NEUP project is the economic impacts of the proposed variant technologies. The team at University of Alabama has pursued an adsorbent synthesis method that replaces the synthetic fiber backbone with a natural waste product. Chitin fibers suitable for ligand grafting have been prepared from shrimp shell waste. These environmental benefits could be realized at a comparable cost to the reference fiber so long as the uptake can be increased or the chemical consumption cost decreased.

Cost analysis of in vitro fertilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Stern, Z; Laufer, N; Levy, R; Ben-Shushan, D; Mor-Yosef, S

1995-08-01

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a routine tool in the arsenal of infertility treatments. Assisted reproductive techniques are expensive, as reflected by the current "take home baby" rate of about 15% per cycle, implying the need for repeated attempts until success is achieved. Israel, today is facing a major change in its health care system, including the necessity to define a national package of health care benefits. The issue of infertility and whether its treatment should be part of the "health basket" is in dispute. Therefore an exact cost analysis of IVF is important. Since the cost of an IVF cycle varies dramatically between countries, we sought an exact breakdown of the different components of the costs involved in an IVF cycle and in achieving an IVF child in Israel. The key question is not how much we spend on IVF cycles but what is the cost of a successful outcome, i.e., a healthy child. This study intends to answer this question, and to give the policy makers, at various levels of the health care system, a crucial tool for their decision-making process. The cost analysis includes direct and indirect costs. The direct costs are divided into fixed costs (labor, equipment, maintenance, depreciation, and overhead) and variable costs (laboratory tests, chemicals, disposable supplies, medications, and loss of working days by the couples). The indirect costs are the costs of premature IVF babies, hospitalization of the IVF pregnant women in a high risk unit, and the cost of complications of the procedure. According to our economic analysis, an IVF cycle in Israel costs $2,560, of which fixed costs are about 50%. The cost of a "take home baby" is $19,267, including direct and indirect costs.

Brain network analysis: separating cost from topology using cost-integration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cedric E Ginestet

Full Text Available A statistically principled way of conducting brain network analysis is still lacking. Comparison of different populations of brain networks is hard because topology is inherently dependent on wiring cost, where cost is defined as the number of edges in an unweighted graph. In this paper, we evaluate the benefits and limitations associated with using cost-integrated topological metrics. Our focus is on comparing populations of weighted undirected graphs that differ in mean association weight, using global efficiency. Our key result shows that integrating over cost is equivalent to controlling for any monotonic transformation of the weight set of a weighted graph. That is, when integrating over cost, we eliminate the differences in topology that may be due to a monotonic transformation of the weight set. Our result holds for any unweighted topological measure, and for any choice of distribution over cost levels. Cost-integration is therefore helpful in disentangling differences in cost from differences in topology. By contrast, we show that the use of the weighted version of a topological metric is generally not a valid approach to this problem. Indeed, we prove that, under weak conditions, the use of the weighted version of global efficiency is equivalent to simply comparing weighted costs. Thus, we recommend the reporting of (i differences in weighted costs and (ii differences in cost-integrated topological measures with respect to different distributions over the cost domain. We demonstrate the application of these techniques in a re-analysis of an fMRI working memory task. We also provide a Monte Carlo method for approximating cost-integrated topological measures. Finally, we discuss the limitations of integrating topology over cost, which may pose problems when some weights are zero, when multiplicities exist in the ranks of the weights, and when one expects subtle cost-dependent topological differences, which could be masked by cost-integration.

Brain Network Analysis: Separating Cost from Topology Using Cost-Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Ginestet, Cedric E.; Nichols, Thomas E.; Bullmore, Ed T.; Simmons, Andrew

2011-01-01

A statistically principled way of conducting brain network analysis is still lacking. Comparison of different populations of brain networks is hard because topology is inherently dependent on wiring cost, where cost is defined as the number of edges in an unweighted graph. In this paper, we evaluate the benefits and limitations associated with using cost-integrated topological metrics. Our focus is on comparing populations of weighted undirected graphs that differ in mean association weight, using global efficiency. Our key result shows that integrating over cost is equivalent to controlling for any monotonic transformation of the weight set of a weighted graph. That is, when integrating over cost, we eliminate the differences in topology that may be due to a monotonic transformation of the weight set. Our result holds for any unweighted topological measure, and for any choice of distribution over cost levels. Cost-integration is therefore helpful in disentangling differences in cost from differences in topology. By contrast, we show that the use of the weighted version of a topological metric is generally not a valid approach to this problem. Indeed, we prove that, under weak conditions, the use of the weighted version of global efficiency is equivalent to simply comparing weighted costs. Thus, we recommend the reporting of (i) differences in weighted costs and (ii) differences in cost-integrated topological measures with respect to different distributions over the cost domain. We demonstrate the application of these techniques in a re-analysis of an fMRI working memory task. We also provide a Monte Carlo method for approximating cost-integrated topological measures. Finally, we discuss the limitations of integrating topology over cost, which may pose problems when some weights are zero, when multiplicities exist in the ranks of the weights, and when one expects subtle cost-dependent topological differences, which could be masked by cost-integration. PMID:21829437

Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Concentrated Solar Power in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuxia Yang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In 2016, the first batch of concentrated solar power (CSP demonstration projects of China was formally approved. Due to the important impact of the cost-benefit on the investment decisions and policy-making, this paper adopted the static payback period (SP, net present value (NPV, net present value rate (NPVR, and internal rate of return (IRR to analyze and discuss the cost-benefit of CSP demonstration plants. The results showed the following. (1 The SP of CSP systems is relatively longer, due to high initial investment; but the cost-benefit of CSP demonstration plants as a whole is better, because of good expected incomes. (2 Vast majority of CSP projects could gain excess returns, on the basis of meeting the profitability required by the benchmark yield of 10%. (3 The cost-benefit of solar tower CSP technology (IRR of 12.33% is better than that of parabolic trough CSP technology (IRR of 11.72% and linear Fresnel CSP technology (IRR of 11.43%. (4 The annual electricity production and initial costs have significant impacts on the cost-benefit of CSP systems; the effects of operation and maintenance costs and loan interest rate on the cost-benefit of CSP systems are relatively smaller but cannot be ignored.

Production Costs of Alternative Transportation Fuels. Influence of Crude Oil Price and Technology Maturity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cazzola, Pierpaolo; Morrison, Geoff; Kaneko, Hiroyuki; Cuenot, Francois; Ghandi, Abbas; Fulton, Lewis

2013-07-01

This study examines the production costs of a range of transport fuels and energy carriers under varying crude oil price assumptions and technology market maturation levels. An engineering ''bottom-up'' approach is used to estimate the effect of the input cost of oil and of various technological assumptions on the finished price of these fuels. In total, the production costs of 20 fuels are examined for crude oil prices between USD 60 and USD 150 per barrel. Some fuel pathways can be competitive with oil as their production, transport and storage technology matures, and as oil price increases. Rising oil prices will offer new opportunities to switch to alternative fuels for transport, to diversify the energy mix of the transport sector, and to reduce the exposure of the whole system to price volatility and potential distuption of supply. In a time of uncertainty about the leading vehicle technology to decarbonize the transport sector, looking at the fuel cost brings key information to be considered to keep mobility affordable yet sustainable.

Examining the effectiveness of municipal solid waste management systems: An integrated cost-benefit analysis perspective with a financial cost modeling in Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weng, Yu-Chi; Fujiwara, Takeshi

2011-01-01

In order to develop a sound material-cycle society, cost-effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems are required for the municipalities in the context of the integrated accounting system for MSW management. Firstly, this paper attempts to establish an integrated cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework for evaluating the effectiveness of MSW management systems. In this paper, detailed cost/benefit items due to waste problems are particularly clarified. The stakeholders of MSW management systems, including the decision-makers of the municipalities and the citizens, are expected to reconsider the waste problems in depth and thus take wise actions with the aid of the proposed CBA framework. Secondly, focusing on the financial cost, this study develops a generalized methodology to evaluate the financial cost-effectiveness of MSW management systems, simultaneously considering the treatment technological levels and policy effects. The impacts of the influencing factors on the annual total and average financial MSW operation and maintenance (O and M) costs are analyzed in the Taiwanese case study with a demonstrative short-term future projection of the financial costs under scenario analysis. The established methodology would contribute to the evaluation of the current policy measures and to the modification of the policy design for the municipalities.

Examining the effectiveness of municipal solid waste management systems: an integrated cost-benefit analysis perspective with a financial cost modeling in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Yu-Chi; Fujiwara, Takeshi

2011-06-01

In order to develop a sound material-cycle society, cost-effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems are required for the municipalities in the context of the integrated accounting system for MSW management. Firstly, this paper attempts to establish an integrated cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework for evaluating the effectiveness of MSW management systems. In this paper, detailed cost/benefit items due to waste problems are particularly clarified. The stakeholders of MSW management systems, including the decision-makers of the municipalities and the citizens, are expected to reconsider the waste problems in depth and thus take wise actions with the aid of the proposed CBA framework. Secondly, focusing on the financial cost, this study develops a generalized methodology to evaluate the financial cost-effectiveness of MSW management systems, simultaneously considering the treatment technological levels and policy effects. The impacts of the influencing factors on the annual total and average financial MSW operation and maintenance (O&M) costs are analyzed in the Taiwanese case study with a demonstrative short-term future projection of the financial costs under scenario analysis. The established methodology would contribute to the evaluation of the current policy measures and to the modification of the policy design for the municipalities. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accidents at work and costs analysis: a field study in a large Italian company.

Science.gov (United States)

Battaglia, Massimo; Frey, Marco; Passetti, Emilio

2014-01-01

Accidents at work are still a heavy burden in social and economic terms, and action to improve health and safety standards at work offers great potential gains not only to employers, but also to individuals and society as a whole. However, companies often are not interested to measure the costs of accidents even if cost information may facilitate preventive occupational health and safety management initiatives. The field study, carried out in a large Italian company, illustrates technical and organisational aspects associated with the implementation of an accident costs analysis tool. The results indicate that the implementation (and the use) of the tool requires a considerable commitment by the company, that accident costs analysis should serve to reinforce the importance of health and safety prevention and that the economic dimension of accidents is substantial. The study also suggests practical ways to facilitate the implementation and the moral acceptance of the accounting technology.

Modeling energy technology choices. Which investment analysis tools are appropriate?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, B.E.

1994-01-01

A variety of tools from modern investment theory appear to hold promise for unraveling observed energy technology investment behavior that often appears anomalous when analyzed using traditional investment analysis methods. This paper reviews the assumptions and important insights of the investment theories most commonly suggested as candidates for explaining the apparent ''energy technology investment paradox''. The applicability of each theory is considered in the light of important aspects of energy technology investment problems, such as sunk costs, uncertainty and imperfect information. The theories addressed include the capital asset pricing model, the arbitrage pricing theory, and the theory of irreversible investment. Enhanced net present value methods are also considered. (author)

Cost-Effectiveness of Treatment of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia With Chemotherapy Only: The Influence of New Medication and Diagnostic Technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Litsenburg, R.R.L.; Uyl-de Groot, C.A.; Raat, H.; Kaspers, G.J.L.; Gemke, R.J.B.J.

2011-01-01

Background: Survival for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has reached 80-90%. Future improvement in treatment success will involve new technologies and medication, adding to the pressure on limited financial resources. Therefore a retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis of ALL

Technology learning for fuel cells. An assessment of past and potential cost reductions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoots, K.; Van der Zwaan, B.C.C.; Kramer, G.J.

2010-01-01

Fuel cells have gained considerable interest as a means to efficiently convert the energy stored in gases like hydrogen and methane into electricity. Further developing fuel cells in order to reach cost, safety and reliability levels at which their widespread use becomes feasible is an essential prerequisite for the potential establishment of a 'hydrogen economy'. A major factor currently obviating the extensive use of fuel cells is their relatively high costs. At present we estimate these at about 1100 EUR(2005)W for an 80 kW fuel cell system but notice that specific costs vary markedly with fuel cell system power capacity. We analyze past fuel cell cost reductions for both individual manufacturers and the global market. We determine learning curves, with fairly high uncertainty ranges, for three different types of fuel cell technology - AFC, PAFC and PEMFC - each manufactured by a different producer. For PEMFC technology we also calculate a global learning curve, characterised by a learning rate of 21% with an error margin of 4%. Given their respective uncertainties, this global learning rate value is in agreement with those we find for different manufacturers. In contrast to some other new energy technologies, R and D still plays a major role in today's fuel cell improvement process and hence probably explains a substantial part of our observed cost reductions. The remaining share of these cost reductions derives from learning-by-doing proper. Since learning-by-doing usually involves a learning rate of typically 20%, the residual value for pure learning we find for fuel cells is relatively low. In an ideal scenario for fuel cell technology we estimate a bottom-line for specific (80 kW system) manufacturing costs of 95 EUR(2005)W. Although learning curves observed in the past constitute no guarantee for sustained cost reductions in the future, when we assume global total learning at the pace calculated here as the only cost reduction mechanism, this ultimate cost

Cost-benefit analysis of nuclear waste disposal: accounting for safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grossman, P.Z.; Cassedy, E.S.

1985-01-01

Radioactive waste discussions have centered, to date, on whether sites can be found and whether storage methods can be made sound enough to prevent accidental leakage into the environment. Seldom raised in public discussion, however, is the threat of intentional release of waste into the environment through acts of terrorism, an issue involving long-term safeguards. Part of the problem lies in the methodology used to evaluate large-scale projects using cost benefit or risk-cost-benefit analyses. After examining the terrorist threat and current planning for safeguards, the authors review the concept of irreversible disposal and other technological steps as well as the possibilities for changing how economists and engineers make decisions. They conclude that no credible means of analysis exists today

Cost-benefit analysis of telehealth in pre-hospital care.

Science.gov (United States)

Langabeer, James R; Champagne-Langabeer, Tiffany; Alqusairi, Diaa; Kim, Junghyun; Jackson, Adria; Persse, David; Gonzalez, Michael

2017-09-01

Objective There has been very little use of telehealth in pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS), yet the potential exists for this technology to transform the current delivery model. In this study, we explore the costs and benefits of one large telehealth EMS initiative. Methods Using a case-control study design and both micro- and gross-costing data from the Houston Fire Department EMS electronic patient care record system, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) comparing costs with potential savings associated with patients treated through a telehealth-enabled intervention. The intervention consisted of telehealth-based consultation between the 911 patient and an EMS physician, to evaluate and triage the necessity for patient transport to a hospital emergency department (ED). Patients with non-urgent, primary care-related conditions were then scheduled and transported by alternative means to an affiliated primary care clinic. We measured CBA as both total cost savings and cost per ED visit averted, in US Dollars ($USD). Results In total, 5570 patients were treated over the first full 12 months with a telehealth-enabled care model. We found a 6.7% absolute reduction in potentially medically unnecessary ED visits, and a 44-minute reduction in total ambulance back-in-service times. The average cost for a telehealth patient was $167, which was a statistically significantly $103 less than the control group ( p cost savings from the societal perspective, or $2468 cost savings per ED visit averted (benefit). Conclusion Patient care enabled by telehealth in a pre-hospital environment, is a more cost effective alternative compared to the traditional EMS 'treat and transport to ED' model.

Environmentally based Cost-Benefit Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnell, M.

1993-11-01

The fundamentals of the basic elements of a new comprehensive economic assessment, MILA, developed in Sweden with inspiration from the Total Cost Assessment-model are presented. The core of the MILA approach is an expanded cost and benefit inventory. But MILA also includes a complementary addition of an internal waste stream analysis, a tool for evaluation of environmental conflicts in monetary terms, an extended time horizon and direct allocation of costs and revenues to products and processes. However, MILA does not ensure profitability for environmentally sound projects. Essentially, MILA is an approach of refining investment and profitability analysis of a project, investment or product. 109 refs., 38 figs

Evaluation of pavement life cycle cost analysis: Review and analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peyman Babashamsi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The cost of road construction consists of design expenses, material extraction, construction equipment, maintenance and rehabilitation strategies, and operations over the entire service life. An economic analysis process known as Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA is used to evaluate the cost-efficiency of alternatives based on the Net Present Value (NPV concept. It is essential to evaluate the above-mentioned cost aspects in order to obtain optimum pavement life-cycle costs. However, pavement managers are often unable to consider each important element that may be required for performing future maintenance tasks. Over the last few decades, several approaches have been developed by agencies and institutions for pavement Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA. While the transportation community has increasingly been utilising LCCA as an essential practice, several organisations have even designed computer programs for their LCCA approaches in order to assist with the analysis. Current LCCA methods are analysed and LCCA software is introduced in this article. Subsequently, a list of economic indicators is provided along with their substantial components. Collecting previous literature will help highlight and study the weakest aspects so as to mitigate the shortcomings of existing LCCA methods and processes. LCCA research will become more robust if improvements are made, facilitating private industries and government agencies to accomplish their economic aims. Keywords: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA, Pavement management, LCCA software, Net Present Value (NPV

National Variation in Urethroplasty Cost and Predictors of Extreme Cost: A Cost Analysis with Policy Implications

OpenAIRE

Harris, Catherine R.; Osterberg, E. Charles; Sanford, Thomas; Alwaal, Amjad; Gaither, Thomas W.; McAninch, Jack W.; McCulloch, Charles E.; Breyer, Benjamin N.

2016-01-01

To determine which factors are associated with higher costs of urethroplasty procedure and whether these factors have been increasing over time. Identification of determinants of extreme costs may help reduce cost while maintaining quality.We conducted a retrospective analysis using the 2001-2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS). The HCUP-NIS captures hospital charges which we converted to cost using the HCUP cost-to-charge ratio. Log cost linear ...

Using cost-effectiveness analysis to support research and development portfolio prioritization for product innovations in measles vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrison, Louis P; Bauch, Chris T; Bresnahan, Brian W; Hazlet, Tom K; Kadiyala, Srikanth; Veenstra, David L

2011-07-01

Several potential measles vaccine innovations are in development to address the shortcomings of the current vaccine. Funders need to prioritize their scarce research and development resources. This article demonstrates the usefulness of cost-effectiveness analysis to support these decisions. This study had 4 major components: (1) identifying potential innovations, (2) developing transmission models to assess mortality and morbidity impacts, (3) estimating the unit cost impacts, and (4) assessing aggregate cost-effectiveness in United Nations Children's Fund countries through 2049. Four promising technologies were evaluated: aerosol delivery, needle-free injection, inhalable dry powder, and early administration DNA vaccine. They are projected to have a small absolute impact in terms of reducing the number of measles cases in most scenarios because of already improving vaccine coverage. Three are projected to reduce unit cost per dose by $0.024 to $0.170 and would improve overall cost-effectiveness. Each will require additional investments to reach the market. Over the next 40 years, the aggregate cost savings could be substantial, ranging from $98.4 million to $689.4 million. Cost-effectiveness analysis can help to inform research and development portfolio prioritization decisions. Three new measles vaccination technologies under development hold promise to be cost-saving from a global perspective over the long-term, even after considering additional investment costs. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.

A Sensitivity Analysis of Timing and Costs of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerlagh, R.; Van der Zwaan, B.

2004-01-01

This paper analyses the optimal timing and macro-economic costs of carbon emission reductions that mitigate the global average atmospheric temperature increase. We use a macro-economic model in which there are two competing energy sources, fossil-fuelled and non-fossil-fuelled. Technological change is represented endogenously through learning curves, and niche markets exist implying positive demand for the relatively expensive non-fossil-fuelled energy source. Under these conditions, with a temperature increase constraint of 2C, early abatement is found to be optimal, and, compared to the results of many existing top-down models, the costs of this strategy prove to be low. We perform an extensive sensitivity analysis of our results regarding the uncertainties that dominate various economic and technological modeling parameters. Uncertainties in the learning rate and the elasticity of substitution between the two different energy sources most significantly affect the robustness of our findings

Future Costs, Fixed Healthcare Budgets, and the Decision Rules of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

van Baal, Pieter; Meltzer, David; Brouwer, Werner

2016-02-01

Life-saving medical technologies result in additional demand for health care due to increased life expectancy. However, most economic evaluations do not include all medical costs that may result from this additional demand in health care and include only future costs of related illnesses. Although there has been much debate regarding the question to which extent future costs should be included from a societal perspective, the appropriate role of future medical costs in the widely adopted but more narrow healthcare perspective has been neglected. Using a theoretical model, we demonstrate that optimal decision rules for cost-effectiveness analyses assuming fixed healthcare budgets dictate that future costs of both related and unrelated medical care should be included. Practical relevance of including the costs of future unrelated medical care is illustrated using the example of transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Our findings suggest that guidelines should prescribe inclusion of these costs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sustainable Technologies and Social Costs for Eliminating Contamination of an Aquifer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Schirmer

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This case study deals with long-term contamination of the Leuna aquifer, which is intended to be restored using sustainable technologies financed by the state. The contamination can only be solved using active rather than passive intervention, because the aquifer has an extraordinarily low natural attenuation capacity for the specific pollutants. Due to the longevity of the contamination source, the groundwater treatment technology that was chosen for the site must operate for a minimum of 20 years but probably much longer. Since the polluter-pay principle cannot be applied, the estimated dynamic primary remediation costs must be accepted as a political or social cost, which must be paid by current and future generations.

Integrating sequencing technologies in personal genomics: optimal low cost reconstruction of structural variants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiang Du

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The goal of human genome re-sequencing is obtaining an accurate assembly of an individual's genome. Recently, there has been great excitement in the development of many technologies for this (e.g. medium and short read sequencing from companies such as 454 and SOLiD, and high-density oligo-arrays from Affymetrix and NimbelGen, with even more expected to appear. The costs and sensitivities of these technologies differ considerably from each other. As an important goal of personal genomics is to reduce the cost of re-sequencing to an affordable point, it is worthwhile to consider optimally integrating technologies. Here, we build a simulation toolbox that will help us optimally combine different technologies for genome re-sequencing, especially in reconstructing large structural variants (SVs. SV reconstruction is considered the most challenging step in human genome re-sequencing. (It is sometimes even harder than de novo assembly of small genomes because of the duplications and repetitive sequences in the human genome. To this end, we formulate canonical problems that are representative of issues in reconstruction and are of small enough scale to be computationally tractable and simulatable. Using semi-realistic simulations, we show how we can combine different technologies to optimally solve the assembly at low cost. With mapability maps, our simulations efficiently handle the inhomogeneous repeat-containing structure of the human genome and the computational complexity of practical assembly algorithms. They quantitatively show how combining different read lengths is more cost-effective than using one length, how an optimal mixed sequencing strategy for reconstructing large novel SVs usually also gives accurate detection of SNPs/indels, how paired-end reads can improve reconstruction efficiency, and how adding in arrays is more efficient than just sequencing for disentangling some complex SVs. Our strategy should facilitate the sequencing of

Cost analysis methodology of spent fuel storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The report deals with the cost analysis of interim spent fuel storage; however, it is not intended either to give a detailed cost analysis or to compare the costs of the different options. This report provides a methodology for calculating the costs of different options for interim storage of the spent fuel produced in the reactor cores. Different technical features and storage options (dry and wet, away from reactor and at reactor) are considered and the factors affecting all options defined. The major cost categories are analysed. Then the net present value of each option is calculated and the levelized cost determined. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted taking into account the uncertainty in the different cost estimates. Examples of current storage practices in some countries are included in the Appendices, with description of the most relevant technical and economic aspects. 16 figs, 14 tabs

Mobile Technologies for Managing Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Carbo, Anisleidy; Gupta, Manish; Tamariz, Leonardo; Palacio, Ana; Levis, Silvina; Nemeth, Zsuzsanna; Dang, Stuti

2018-04-02

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted among heart failure (HF) patients have reported that mobile technologies can improve HF-related outcomes. Our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate m-Health's impact on healthcare services utilization, mortality, and cost. We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and EMBASE for studies published between 1966 and May-2017. We included studies that compared the use of m-Health in HF patients to usual care. m-Health is defined as the use of mobile computing and communication technologies to record and transmit data. The outcomes were HF-related and all-cause hospital days, cost, admissions, and mortality. Our search strategy resulted in 1,494 articles. We included 10 RCTs and 1 quasi-experimental study, which represented 3,109 patients in North America and Europe. Patient average age range was 53-80 years, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III, and Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction <50%. Patients were mostly monitored daily and followed for an average of 6 months. A reduction was seen in HF-related hospital days. Nonsignificant reductions were seen in HF-related cost, admissions, and mortality and total mortality. We found no significant differences for all-cause hospital days and admissions, and an increase in total cost. m-Health reduced HF-related hospital days, showed reduction trends in total mortality and HF-related admissions, mortality and cost, and increased total costs related to more clinic visits and implementation of new technologies. More studies reporting consistent quality outcomes are warranted to give conclusive information about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of m-Health interventions for HF.

Analysis of operating costs a Low-Level Mixed Waste Incineration Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loghry, S.L.; Salmon, R.; Hermes, W.H.

1995-01-01

By definition, mixed wastes contain both chemically hazardous and radioactive components. These components make the treatment and disposal of mixed wastes expensive and highly complex issues because the different regulations which pertain to the two classes of contaminants frequently conflict. One method to dispose of low-level mixed wastes (LLMWs) is by incineration, which volatizes and destroys the organic (and other) hazardous contaminants and also greatly reduces the waste volume. The US Department of Energy currently incinerates liquid LLMW in its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Incinerator, located at the K-25 Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This incinerator has been fully permitted since 1991 and to date has treated approximately 7 x 10 6 kg of liquid LLMW. This paper presents an analysis of the budgeted operating costs by category (e.g., maintenance, plant operations, sampling and analysis, and utilities) for fiscal year 1994 based on actual operating experience (i.e., a ''bottoms-up'' budget). These costs provide benchmarking guidelines which could be used in comparing incinerator operating costs with those of other technologies designed to dispose of liquid LLMW. A discussion of the current upgrade status and future activities are included in this paper. Capital costs are not addressed

24 CFR 84.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cost and price analysis. 84.45....45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various...

Technology certification and technology acceptance: Promoting interstate cooperation and market development for innovative technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brockbank, B.R.

1995-03-01

In the past two years, public and private efforts to promote development and deployment of innovative environmental technologies have shifted from the analysis of barriers to the implementation of a variety of initiatives aimed at surmounting those barriers. Particular attention has been directed at (1) streamlining fragmented technology acceptance processes within and among the states, and (2) alleviating disincentives, created by inadequate or unverified technology cost and performance data, for users and regulators to choose innovative technologies. Market fragmentation currently imposes significant cost burdens on technology developers and inhibits the investment of private capital in environmental technology companies. Among the responses to these problems are state and federal technology certification/validation programs, efforts to standardize cost/performance data reporting, and initiatives aimed at promoting interstate cooperation in technology testing and evaluation. This paper reviews the current status of these initiatives, identifies critical challenges to their success, and recommends strategies for addressing those challenges

Network for development of electroporation-based technologies and treatments: COST TD1104.

Science.gov (United States)

Miklavčič, Damijan

2012-10-01

Exposure of biological cells to a sufficiently strong external electric field results in increased permeability of cell membranes, referred to as "electroporation." Since all types of cells (animal, plant and microorganism) can be effectively electroporated, electroporation is considered to be a universal method and a platform technology. Electroporation has become a widely used technology applicable to, e.g., cancer treatment, gene transfection, food and biomass processing and microbial inactivation. However, despite significant progress in electroporation-based applications, there is a lack of coordination and interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge between researchers from different scientific domains. Thus, critical mass for new major breakthroughs is missing. This is why we decided to establish cooperation between research groups working in different fields of electroporation. Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), which funds networking and capacity-building activities, presents a perfect framework for such scientific cooperation. This COST action aims at (1) providing necessary steps toward EU cooperation of science and technology to foster basic understanding of electroporation; (2) improving communication between research groups, resulting in streamlining European research and development activities; and (3) enabling development of new and further development of existing electroporation-based applications by integrating multidisciplinary research teams, as well as providing comprehensive training for early-stage researchers. Results of this COST action will provide multiple societal, scientific and technological benefits from improving existing electroporation-based applications to adding new ones in the fields of medicine, biotechnology and environmental preservation.

Effects of economies of scale and experience on the costs of energy-efficient technologies. Case study of electric motors in Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jardot, D.; Eichhammer, W.; Fleiter, T. [Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), Breslauer Str. 48, 76139 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2010-11-15

Increasing energy efficiency is discussed as an effective way to protect the climate, even though this is frequently associated with additional (investment) costs when compared to standard technologies. However, the investment costs of emerging energy-efficient technologies can be reduced by economies of scale and experience curve effects. This also brings about higher market penetration by lowering market barriers. Experience curves have already been analyzed in detail for renewable energy technologies, but are not as well documented for energy-efficient technologies despite their significance for energy and climate policy decisions. This work provides empirical evidence for effects of economies of scale and experience on the costs of energy-efficient electric motors. We apply a new methodology to the estimation of learning effects that is particularly promising for energy-efficient technologies where the very low data availability did not allow calculations of learning rates so far. Energy-efficient electric motors are a highly relevant energy technology that is responsible for about 55% of German electricity consumption. The analysis consists of three main steps. First, the calculation of composite price indices based on gross value added statistics for Germany which show the changes in cost components of electric motors over the period 1995 to 2006; second, an estimation of the corresponding learning rate which is, in a third step, compared with learning rates observed for other energy-efficient technologies in a literature review. Due to restrictions of data availability, it was not possible to calculate a learning rate for the differential costs of energy-efficient motors compared to standard motors. Still, we estimated a learning rate of 9% for 'Eff2' motors in a period when they penetrated the market and replaced the less efficient 'Eff3' motors. Furthermore, we showed the contribution of different effects to these cost reductions, like

43 CFR 12.945 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost and price analysis. 12.945 Section 12... Requirements § 12.945 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every procurement action. Price analysis may be...

22 CFR 145.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cost and price analysis. 145.45 Section 145.45....45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every procurement action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various...

Technology interactions among low-carbon energy technologies: What can we learn from a large number of scenarios?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McJeon, Haewon C.; Clarke, Leon; Kyle, Page; Wise, Marshall; Hackbarth, Andrew; Bryant, Benjamin P.; Lempert, Robert J.

2011-01-01

Advanced low-carbon energy technologies can substantially reduce the cost of stabilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Understanding the interactions between these technologies and their impact on the costs of stabilization can help inform energy policy decisions. Many previous studies have addressed this challenge by exploring a small number of representative scenarios that represent particular combinations of future technology developments. This paper uses a combinatorial approach in which scenarios are created for all combinations of the technology development assumptions that underlie a smaller, representative set of scenarios. We estimate stabilization costs for 768 runs of the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM), based on 384 different combinations of assumptions about the future performance of technologies and two stabilization goals. Graphical depiction of the distribution of stabilization costs provides first-order insights about the full data set and individual technologies. We apply a formal scenario discovery method to obtain more nuanced insights about the combinations of technology assumptions most strongly associated with high-cost outcomes. Many of the fundamental insights from traditional representative scenario analysis still hold under this comprehensive combinatorial analysis. For example, the importance of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the substitution effect among supply technologies are consistently demonstrated. The results also provide more clarity regarding insights not easily demonstrated through representative scenario analysis. For example, they show more clearly how certain supply technologies can provide a hedge against high stabilization costs, and that aggregate end-use efficiency improvements deliver relatively consistent stabilization cost reductions. Furthermore, the results indicate that a lack of CCS options combined with lower technological advances in the buildings sector or the transportation sector is

Accidents at Work and Costs Analysis: A Field Study in a Large Italian Company

Science.gov (United States)

BATTAGLIA, Massimo; FREY, Marco; PASSETTI, Emilio

2014-01-01

Accidents at work are still a heavy burden in social and economic terms, and action to improve health and safety standards at work offers great potential gains not only to employers, but also to individuals and society as a whole. However, companies often are not interested to measure the costs of accidents even if cost information may facilitate preventive occupational health and safety management initiatives. The field study, carried out in a large Italian company, illustrates technical and organisational aspects associated with the implementation of an accident costs analysis tool. The results indicate that the implementation (and the use) of the tool requires a considerable commitment by the company, that accident costs analysis should serve to reinforce the importance of health and safety prevention and that the economic dimension of accidents is substantial. The study also suggests practical ways to facilitate the implementation and the moral acceptance of the accounting technology. PMID:24869894

QUANTIFYING BENEFITS FOR COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

OpenAIRE

Attila GYORGY; Nicoleta VINTILA; Florian GAMAN

2014-01-01

Cost Benefit Analysis is one of the most widely used financial tools to select future investment projects in public and private sector. This method is based on comparing costs and benefits in terms of constant prices. While costs are easier to predict and monetize, the benefits should be identified not only in direct relation with the investment, but also widening the sphere of analysis to indirect benefits experienced by the community from the neighbourhood or the whole society. During finan...

The cost benefit analysis of implementing photovoltaic solar system in the state of Kuwait

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramadhan, Mohammad; Naseeb, Adel

2011-01-01

In addition to the high financial cost of energy resources required to meet the rising demand for electricity consumption in Kuwait, the negative environmental impact of fossil fuel is increasing. Hence, the objective of this paper is to determine the economic feasibility and viability of implementing PV solar energy in the State of Kuwait. It was found that the positive characteristics of solar radiation in Kuwait play a critical role in enhancing the feasibility of implementing solar systems. Under the present price of 5$/W and 15% efficiency, the LCOE of a 1 MW station is estimated to be around $0.20/kWh. This LCOE can be feasible only when the cost of oil is around 100$/barrel. The Cost Benefit Analysis showed that when the value of saved energy resources used in producing traditional electricity, and the cost of lowering CO 2 emissions are accounted for, the true economic cost of LCOE of a PV system will decline significantly. The preliminary economic analysis recommends the implementation of PV technology in Kuwait. (author)

29 CFR 95.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Cost and price analysis. 95.45 Section 95.45 Labor Office of... Procurement Standards § 95.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every procurement action. Price analysis may be...

Incremental ALARA cost/benefit computer analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamby, P.

1987-01-01

Commonwealth Edison Company has developed and is testing an enhanced Fortran Computer Program to be used for cost/benefit analysis of Radiation Reduction Projects at its six nuclear power facilities and Corporate Technical Support Groups. This paper describes a Macro-Diven IBM Mainframe Program comprised of two different types of analyses-an Abbreviated Program with fixed costs and base values, and an extended Engineering Version for a detailed, more through and time-consuming approach. The extended engineering version breaks radiation exposure costs down into two components-Health-Related Costs and Replacement Labor Costs. According to user input, the program automatically adjust these two cost components and applies the derivation to company economic analyses such as replacement power costs, carrying charges, debt interest, and capital investment cost. The results from one of more program runs using different parameters may be compared in order to determine the most appropriate ALARA dose reduction technique. Benefits of this particular cost / benefit analysis technique includes flexibility to accommodate a wide range of user data and pre-job preparation, as well as the use of proven and standardized company economic equations

Low cost technologies for the industrial waste water treatment; Tecnologia de tratamiento de aguas residuales industriales de bajo coste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

Nowadays, the industrialism is gradually becoming more and more concerned on the way of reducing the disposal of pollutant waste. As well, he demands solutions for this problem but he usually guests a great disparity of technologies and costs. This article presents three low cost systems for purification of industrial waste water which are suitable for numerous applications.

Technology Estimating: A Process to Determine the Cost and Schedule of Space Technology Research and Development

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Stuart K.; Reeves, John D.; Williams-Byrd, Julie A.; Greenberg, Marc; Comstock, Doug; Olds, John R.; Wallace, Jon; DePasquale, Dominic; Schaffer, Mark

2013-01-01

NASA is investing in new technologies that include 14 primary technology roadmap areas, and aeronautics. Understanding the cost for research and development of these technologies and the time it takes to increase the maturity of the technology is important to the support of the ongoing and future NASA missions. Overall, technology estimating may help provide guidance to technology investment strategies to help improve evaluation of technology affordability, and aid in decision support. The research provides a summary of the framework development of a Technology Estimating process where four technology roadmap areas were selected to be studied. The framework includes definition of terms, discussion for narrowing the focus from 14 NASA Technology Roadmap areas to four, and further refinement to include technologies, TRL range of 2 to 6. Included in this paper is a discussion to address the evaluation of 20 unique technology parameters that were initially identified, evaluated and then subsequently reduced for use in characterizing these technologies. A discussion of data acquisition effort and criteria established for data quality are provided. The findings obtained during the research included gaps identified, and a description of a spreadsheet-based estimating tool initiated as a part of the Technology Estimating process.

Cost-Effective Additive Manufacturing in Space: HELIOS Technology Challenge Guide

Science.gov (United States)

DeVieneni, Alayna; Velez, Carlos Andres; Benjamin, David; Hollenbeck, Jay

2012-01-01

Welcome to the HELIOS Technology Challenge Guide. This document is intended to serve as a general road map for participants of the HELIOS Technology Challenge [HTC] Program and the associated inaugural challenge: HTC-01: Cost-Effective Additive Manufacturing in Space. Please note that this guide is not a rule book and is not meant to hinder the development of innovative ideas. Its primary goal is to highlight the objectives of the HTC-01 Challenge and to describe possible solution routes and pitfalls that such technology may encounter in space. Please also note that participants wishing to demonstrate any hardware developed under this program during any future HELIOS Technology Challenge showcase event(s) may be subject to event regulations to be published separately at a later date.

Advancements in valve technology and industry lessons lead to improved plant reliability and cost savings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, V.; Kalsi, M.S.

2005-01-01

Plant reliability and safety hinges on the proper functioning of several valves. Recent advancements in valve technology have resulted in new analytical and test methods for evaluating and improving valve and actuator reliability. This is especially significant in critical service applications in which the economic impact of a valve failure on production, outage schedules and consequential damages far surpasses the initial equipment purchase price. This paper presents an overview of recent advances in valve technology driven by reliability concerns and cost savings objectives without comprising safety in the Nuclear Power Industry. This overview is based on over 27 years of experience in supporting US and International nuclear power utilities, and contributing to EPRI, and NSSS Owners' Groups in developing generic models/methodologies to address industry wide issues; performing design basis reviews; and implementing plant-wide valve reliability improvement programs. Various analytical prediction software and hardware solutions and training seminars are now available to implement valve programs covering power plants' lifecycle from the construction phase through life extension and power up rate. These tools and methodologies can enhance valve-engineering activities including the selection, sizing, proper application, condition monitoring, failure analysis, and condition based maintenance optimization with a focus on potential bad actors. This paper offers two such examples, the Kalsi Valve and Actuator Program (KVAP) and Check Valve Analysis and Prioritization (CVAP) [1-3, 8, 9, 11-13]. The advanced, validated torque prediction models incorporated into KVAP software for AOVs and MOVs have improved reliability of margin predictions and enabled cost savings through elimination of unwarranted equipment modifications. CVAP models provides a basis to prioritize the population of valves recommended for preventive maintenance, inspection and/or modification, allowing

Review of PV Inverter Technology Cost and Performance Projections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Navigant Consulting Inc.

2006-01-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has a major responsibility in the implementation of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Solar Energy Technologies Program. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has a major role in supporting inverter development, characterization, standards, certifications, and verifications. The Solar Energy Technologies Program recently published a Multiyear Technical Plan, which establishes a goal of reducing the Levelized Energy Cost (LEC) for photovoltaic (PV) systems to $0.06/kWh by 2020. The Multiyear Technical Plan estimates that, in order to meet the PV system goal, PV inverter prices will need to decline to $0.25-0.30 Wp by 2020. DOE determined the need to conduct a rigorous review of the PV Program's technical and economic targets, including the target set for PV inverters. NREL requested that Navigant Consulting Inc.(NCI) conduct a review of historical and projected cost and performance improvements for PV inverters, including identification of critical barriers identified and the approaches government might use to address them.

7 CFR 550.47 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cost and price analysis. 550.47 Section 550.47... OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY FOR NON-ASSISTANCE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS Management of Agreements Procurement Standards § 550.47 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall...

40 CFR 35.6585 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 35.6585... Response Actions Procurement Requirements Under A Cooperative Agreement § 35.6585 Cost and price analysis. (a) General. The recipient must conduct and document a cost or price analysis in connection with...

Cost-benefit analysis for combined heat and power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sazdovski, Ace; Fushtikj, Vangel

2004-01-01

The paper presents a methodology and practical application of Cost-Benefit Analysis for Combined Heat and Power Plant (Cogeneration facility). Methodology include up-to-date and real data for cogeneration plant in accordance with the trends ill development of the CHP technology. As a case study a CHP plant that could be built-up in Republic of Macedonia is analyzed. The main economic parameters for project evaluation, such as NPV and IRR are calculated for a number of possible scenarios. The analyze present the economic outputs that could be used as a decision for CHP project acceptance for investment. (Author)

Model reduction by weighted Component Cost Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jae H.; Skelton, Robert E.

1990-01-01

Component Cost Analysis considers any given system driven by a white noise process as an interconnection of different components, and assigns a metric called 'component cost' to each component. These component costs measure the contribution of each component to a predefined quadratic cost function. A reduced-order model of the given system may be obtained by deleting those components that have the smallest component costs. The theory of Component Cost Analysis is extended to include finite-bandwidth colored noises. The results also apply when actuators have dynamics of their own. Closed-form analytical expressions of component costs are also derived for a mechanical system described by its modal data. This is very useful to compute the modal costs of very high order systems. A numerical example for MINIMAST system is presented.

Annual meeting on nuclear technology '96. Technical session: Energy costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-08-01

The two papers of this session deal with the costs of two different energy generation systems, one is based on photovoltaic energy conversion, and the other is the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear energy generation. The author shows that the costs of these two energy systems in Germany are much more governed by decisions taken in the political domain than is the case in other countries. Although German science and technology in these two engineering fields hold a top rank worldwide, the high costs that seem inevitable in Germany are expected to be a major reason why the photovoltaic industry will have to leave the country and go abroad to exploit the better chances there. (DG) [de

Development of Manufacturing Technology to Accelerate Cost Reduction of Low Concentration and

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Detrick, Adam [The Solaria Corporation, Fremont, CA (United States)

2017-09-27

The purpose of this project was to accelerate deployment of cost-effective US-based manufacturing of Solaria’s unique c-Si module technology. This effort successfully resulted in the development of US-based manufacturing technology to support two highly-differentiated, market leading product platforms. The project was initially predicated on developing Solaria’s low-concentration PV (LCPV) module technology which at the time of the award was uniquely positioned to exceed the SunShot price goal of $0.50/Wp for standard c-Si modules. The Solaria LCPV module is a 2.5x concentrator that leverages proven, high-reliability PV module materials and low silicon cell usage into a technology package that already had the lowest direct material cost and leading Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). With over 25 MW commercially deployed globally, the Solaria module was well positioned to continue to lead in PV module cost reduction. Throughout the term of the contract, market conditions changed dramatically and so to did Solaria’s product offerings to support this. However, the manufacturing technology developed for the LCPV module was successfully leveraged and optimized to support two new and different product platforms. BIPV “PowerVision” and High-efficiency “PowerXT” modules. The primary barrier to enabling high-volume PV module manufacturing in the US is the high manual labor component in certain unique aspects of our manufacturing process. The funding was used to develop unique manufacturing automation which makes the manual labor components of these key processes more efficient and increase throughput. At the core of Solaria’s product offerings are its unique and proprietary techniques for dicing and re-arranging solar cells into modules with highly-differentiated characteristics that address key gaps in the c-Si market. It is these techniques that were successfully evolved and deployed into US-based manufacturing site with SunShot funding. Today, Solaria

Social cost-benefit analysis and nuclear futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearce, D.W.

1979-01-01

The usefulness of cost-benefit analysis in making nuclear power investment decisions is considered. The essence of social cost-benefit analysis is outlined and shown to be unavoidably value-laden. As a case study six issues relevant to the decision to build on oxide fuel reprocessing plant (THORP) are examined. The potential practical value of using cost-benefit analysis as an aid to decision-making is considered for each of these issues. It is concluded that cost-benefit approach is of limited value in the nuclear power case because of its inapplicability to such issues as the liberty of the individual and nuclear weapons proliferation. (author)

Cost-effectiveness analysis of computer-based assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pauline Loewenberger

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The need for more cost-effective and pedagogically acceptable combinations of teaching and learning methods to sustain increasing student numbers means that the use of innovative methods, using technology, is accelerating. There is an expectation that economies of scale might provide greater cost-effectiveness whilst also enhancing student learning. The difficulties and complexities of these expectations are considered in this paper, which explores the challenges faced by those wishing to evaluate the costeffectiveness of computer-based assessment (CBA. The paper outlines the outcomes of a survey which attempted to gather information about the costs and benefits of CBA.

[Guidelines for budget impact analysis of health technologies in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira-Da-Silva, Andre Luis; Ribeiro, Rodrigo Antonini; Santos, Vânia Cristina Canuto; Elias, Flávia Tavares Silva; d'Oliveira, Alexandre Lemgruber Portugal; Polanczyk, Carisi Anne

2012-07-01

Budget impact analysis (BIA) provides operational financial forecasts to implement new technologies in healthcare systems. There were no previous specific recommendations to conduct such analyses in Brazil. This paper reviews BIA methods for health technologies and proposes BIA guidelines for the public and private Brazilian healthcare system. The following recommendations were made: adopt the budget administrator's perspective; use a timeframe of 1 to 5 years; compare reference and alternative scenarios; consider the technology's rate of incorporation; estimate the target population by either an epidemiological approach or measured demand; consider restrictions on technologies' indication or factors that increase the demand for them; consider direct and averted costs; do not adjust for inflation or discounts; preferably, integrate information on a spreadsheet; calculate the incremental budget impact between scenarios; and summarize information in a budget impact report.

14 CFR 1274.506 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cost and price analysis. 1274.506 Section... WITH COMMERCIAL FIRMS Procurement Standards § 1274.506 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every...

A cost-benefit analysis of a pellet boiler with electrostatic precipitator versus conventional biomass technology: A case study of an institutional boiler in Syracuse, New York.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Jonathan I; Biton, Leiran; Hopke, Philip K; Zhang, K Max; Rector, Lisa

2017-07-01

Biomass facilities have received increasing attention as a strategy to increase the use of renewable fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions from the electric generation and heating sectors, but these facilities can potentially increase local air pollution and associated health effects. Comparing the economic costs and public health benefits of alternative biomass fuel, heating technology, and pollution control technology options provides decision-makers with the necessary information to make optimal choices in a given location. For a case study of a combined heat and power biomass facility in Syracuse, New York, we used stack testing to estimate emissions of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) for both the deployed technology (staged combustion pellet boiler with an electrostatic precipitator) and a conventional alternative (wood chip stoker boiler with a multicyclone). We used the atmospheric dispersion model AERMOD to calculate the contribution of either fuel-technology configuration to ambient primary PM 2.5 in a 10km×10km region surrounding the facility, and we quantified the incremental contribution to population mortality and morbidity. We assigned economic values to health outcomes and compared the health benefits of the lower-emitting technology with the incremental costs. In total, the incremental annualized cost of the lower-emitting pellet boiler was $190,000 greater, driven by a greater cost of the pellet fuel and pollution control technology, offset in part by reduced fuel storage costs. PM 2.5 emissions were a factor of 23 lower with the pellet boiler with electrostatic precipitator, with corresponding differences in contributions to ambient primary PM 2.5 concentrations. The monetary value of the public health benefits of selecting the pellet-fired boiler technology with electrostatic precipitator was $1.7 million annually, greatly exceeding the differential costs even when accounting for uncertainties. Our analyses also showed complex spatial

An improved set of standards for finding cost for cost-effectiveness analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Paul G

2009-07-01

Guidelines have helped standardize methods of cost-effectiveness analysis, allowing different interventions to be compared and enhancing the generalizability of study findings. There is agreement that all relevant services be valued from the societal perspective using a long-term time horizon and that more exact methods be used to cost services most affected by the study intervention. Guidelines are not specific enough with respect to costing methods, however. The literature was reviewed to identify the problems associated with the 4 principal methods of cost determination. Microcosting requires direct measurement and is ordinarily reserved to cost novel interventions. Analysts should include nonwage labor cost, person-level and institutional overhead, and the cost of development, set-up activities, supplies, space, and screening. Activity-based cost systems have promise of finding accurate costs of all services provided, but are not widely adopted. Quality must be evaluated and the generalizability of cost estimates to other settings must be considered. Administrative cost estimates, chiefly cost-adjusted charges, are widely used, but the analyst must consider items excluded from the available system. Gross costing methods determine quantity of services used and employ a unit cost. If the intervention will affect the characteristics of a service, the method should not assume that the service is homogeneous. Questions are posed for future reviews of the quality of costing methods. The analyst must avoid inappropriate assumptions, especially those that bias the analysis by exclusion of costs that are affected by the intervention under study.

National Variation in Urethroplasty Cost and Predictors of Extreme Cost: A Cost Analysis With Policy Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Catherine R; Osterberg, E Charles; Sanford, Thomas; Alwaal, Amjad; Gaither, Thomas W; McAninch, Jack W; McCulloch, Charles E; Breyer, Benjamin N

2016-08-01

To determine which factors are associated with higher costs of urethroplasty procedure and whether these factors have been increasing over time. Identification of determinants of extreme costs may help reduce cost while maintaining quality. We conducted a retrospective analysis using the 2001-2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS). The HCUP-NIS captures hospital charges which we converted to cost using the HCUP cost-to-charge ratio. Log cost linear regression with sensitivity analysis was used to determine variables associated with increased costs. Extreme cost was defined as the top 20th percentile of expenditure, analyzed with logistic regression, and expressed as odds ratios (OR). A total of 2298 urethroplasties were recorded in NIS over the study period. The median (interquartile range) calculated cost was $7321 ($5677-$10,000). Patients with multiple comorbid conditions were associated with extreme costs [OR 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-2.04, P = .02] compared with patients with no comorbid disease. Inpatient complications raised the odds of extreme costs (OR 3.2, CI 2.14-4.75, P costs (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.2-2.64, P = .005). Variations in patient age, race, hospital region, bed size, teaching status, payor type, and volume of urethroplasty cases were not associated with extremes of cost. Cost variation for perioperative inpatient urethroplasty procedures is dependent on preoperative patient comorbidities, postoperative complications, and surgical complexity related to graft usage. Procedural cost and cost variation are critical for understanding which aspects of care have the greatest impact on cost. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cost-benefit analysis: reality or illusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tait, G.W.C.

1980-01-01

The problems encountered in the application of cost-benefit analysis to the setting of acceptable radiation exposure levels are discussed, in particular the difficulty of assigning a monetary value to human life or disability, and the fact that the customary optimization of cost-benefit is not consistent with the ICRP dose limitation system, especially the ALARA principle. It is concluded that the present ICRP recommendations should remain the basis of exposure control while a carefully limited use of cost-benefit analysis may be helpful in some cases. (U.K.)

Development of cost-benefit analysis system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiba, Tsuyoshi; Mishima, Tetsuya; Yuyama, Tomonori; Suzuki, Atsushi

2001-01-01

In order to promote the FDR development, it is necessary to see various benefits brought by introduction of FBR from multiple perspectives and have a good grasp of such benefits quantitatively and an adequate R and D investment scale which corresponds with them. In this study, the structured prototype in the previous study was improved to be able to perform cost-benefit analysis. An example of improvement made in the system is addition of subroutine used for comparison between new energy and benefits brought by introduction of FBR with special emphasis on addition of logic for analyzing externality about the new energy. Other improvement examples are modification of the Conventional Year Expense Ratio method of power generation cost to Average Durable Year Cost method, addition of database function and turning input data into database, and reviewing idea on cost by the type of waste material and price of uranium. The cost-benefit analysis system was also restructured utilizing Microsoft ACCESS so that it should have a data base function. As the result of the improvement mentioned above, we expect that the improved cost-benefit analysis system will have higher generality than the system before; therefore, great deal of benefits brought by application of the system in the future is expected. (author)

Nuclear power company activity based costing management analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Dan

2012-01-01

With Nuclear Energy Industry development, Nuclear Power Company has the continual promoting stress of inner management to the sustainable marketing operation development. In view of this, it is very imminence that Nuclear Power Company should promote the cost management levels and built the nuclear safety based lower cost competitive advantage. Activity based costing management (ABCM) transfer the cost management emphases from the 'product' to the 'activity' using the value chain analysis methods, cost driver analysis methods and so on. According to the analysis of the detail activities and the value chains, cancel the unnecessary activity, low down the resource consuming of the necessary activity, and manage the cost from the source, achieve the purpose of reducing cost, boosting efficiency and realizing the management value. It gets the conclusion from the detail analysis with the nuclear power company procedure and activity, and also with the selection to 'pieces analysis' of the important cost related project in the nuclear power company. The conclusion is that the activities of the nuclear power company has the obviously performance. It can use the management of ABC method. And with the management of the procedure and activity, it is helpful to realize the nuclear safety based low cost competitive advantage in the nuclear power company. (author)

Analysis of costs-benefits tradeoffs of complex security systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, M.J.

1996-01-01

Essential to a systems approach to design of security systems is an analysis of the cost effectiveness of alternative designs. While the concept of analysis of costs and benefits is straightforward, implementation can be at the least tedious and, for complex designs and alternatives, can become nearly intractable without the help of structured analysis tools. PACAIT--Performance and Cost Analysis Integrated Tools--is a prototype tool. The performance side of the analysis collates and reduces data from ASSESS, and existing DOE PC-based security systems performance analysis tool. The costs side of the analysis uses ACE, an existing DOD PC-based costs analysis tool. Costs are reported over the full life-cycle of the system, that is, the costs to procure, operate, maintain and retire the system and all of its components. Results are collected in Microsoft reg-sign Excel workbooks and are readily available to analysts and decision makers in both tabular and graphical formats and at both the system and path-element levels

15 CFR 14.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cost and price analysis. 14.45 Section... COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 14.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with...

45 CFR 74.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost and price analysis. 74.45 Section 74.45... ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 74.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in...

45 CFR 2543.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost and price analysis. 2543.45 Section 2543.45... ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 2543.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every...

49 CFR 19.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost and price analysis. 19.45 Section 19.45... Requirements Procurement Standards § 19.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every procurement action. Price...

28 CFR 70.45 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost and price analysis. 70.45 Section 70... NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Procurement Standards § 70.45 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis must be made and documented in the procurement files in connection...

Systematization of Cost Factors for Cost Management at Industrial Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Y.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Identification and structuring of factors determining the cost level has significant importance in cost analysis and control. Cost factors need to be systematized for more effective cost management. The objective of the study is to identify and structure the factors with impact on the enterprise costs. The external and internal factors with impact on the enterprise costs in industry are highlighted. For cost management purposes, it is proposed to group the cost factors into the two categories: structural and functional. The essence of structural and functional factors is shown; a classification of functional factors is given. The effect of a structural factor such as products range (complexity is illustrated. As the factor of complexity, combined with cost analysis systems and innovative tools of analysis (ABC and XYZ methods, has been increasingly in focus of analysts, three problems are described which, once dealt with, will enable ABC method to fit into the cost management system. The importance of another structural factor of costs, technology selection, in cost management is shown. The analysis allows for the following conclusions: for purposes of current cost management, including one based on operational analysis, the output needs to be addressed as the central factor determining the cost level; in the strategic perspective, an enterprise needs to concentrate on calculating the costs for the structural alternatives that are supposed to determine its competitive position; for cost management purposes, the cost factors should be broken into two categories, structural and functional; a specific management system exists for each cost factor, which is greatly important for the positioning of an enterprise.

Energy and cost savings results for advanced technology systems from the Cogeneration Technology Alternatives Study /CTAS/

Science.gov (United States)

Sagerman, G. D.; Barna, G. J.; Burns, R. K.

1979-01-01

The Cogeneration Technology Alternatives Study (CTAS), a program undertaken to identify the most attractive advanced energy conversion systems for industrial cogeneration applications in the 1985-2000 time period, is described, and preliminary results are presented. Two cogeneration options are included in the analysis: a topping application, in which fuel is input to the energy conversion system which generates electricity and waste heat from the conversion system is used to provide heat to the process, and a bottoming application, in which fuel is burned to provide high temperature process heat and waste heat from the process is used as thermal input to the energy conversion system which generates energy. Steam turbines, open and closed cycle gas turbines, combined cycles, diesel engines, Stirling engines, phosphoric acid and molten carbonate fuel cells and thermionics are examined. Expected plant level energy savings, annual energy cost savings, and other results of the economic analysis are given, and the sensitivity of these results to the assumptions concerning fuel prices, price of purchased electricity and the potential effects of regional energy use characteristics is discussed.

Levelised costs of Wave and Tidal energy in the UK: Cost competitiveness and the importance of 'banded' Renewables Obligation Certificates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allan, Grant; Gilmartin, Michelle; McGregor, Peter; Swales, Kim

2011-01-01

In this paper, publicly available cost data are used to calculate the private levelised costs of two marine energy technologies for UK electricity generation: Wave and Tidal Stream power. These estimates are compared to those for ten other electricity generation technologies whose costs were identified by the UK Government (). Under plausible assumptions for costs and performance, point estimates of the levelised costs of Wave and Tidal Stream generation are Pounds 190 and Pounds 81/MWh, respectively. Sensitivity analysis shows how these relative private levelised costs calculations are affected by variation in key parameters, specifically the assumed capital costs, fuel costs and the discount rate. We also consider the impact of the introduction of technology-differentiated financial support for renewable energy on the cost competitiveness of Wave and Tidal Stream power. Further, we compare the impact of the current UK government support level to the more generous degree of assistance for marine technologies that is proposed by the Scottish government. - Research highlights: → Levelised costs of electricity generation from wave and tidal stream in UK calculated. → Comparison to ten renewable and non-renewable technologies demonstrated. → Sensitivity of levelised costs to key assumptions is demonstrated. → Technology-specific financial support revealed to be insufficient at current costs.

The cost of respirable coal mine dust: an analysis based on new black lung claims

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Page, S.J.; Organiscak, J.A.; Lichtman, K. [US Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Dept. of the Interior

1997-12-01

The article provides summation of the monetary costs of new compensation claims associated with levels of unmitigated respirable coal mine dust and the resultant lung disease known as black lung and compares these compensation costs to the cost of dust control technology research by the US Bureau of Mines. It presents an analysis of these expenditures and projects these costs over the period from 1991 to 2010, based on projected future new claims which are assumed to be approved for federal and state benefit payment. Since current and future dust control research efforts cannot change past claim histories, a valid comparison of future research spending with other incurred costs must examine only the cost of future new claims. The bias of old claim costs was eliminated in this analysis by examining only claims since 1980. The results estimate that for an expected 339 new approved claims annually from 1991 to 2010, the Federal Trust Fund costs will be 985 million dollars. During this same period, state black lung compensation is estimated to be 18.2 billion dollars. The Bureau of Mines dust control research expenditures are estimated as 0.44% of the projected future black lung-related costs. 9 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

A cost-benefit analysis of landfill mining and material recycling in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Chuanbin; Gong, Zhe; Hu, Junsong; Cao, Aixin; Liang, Hanwen

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Assessing the economic feasibility of landfill mining. • We applied a cost-benefit analysis model for landfill mining. • Four material cycling and energy recovery scenarios were designed. • We used net present value to evaluate the cost-benefit efficiency. - Abstract: Landfill mining is an environmentally-friendly technology that combines the concepts of material recycling and sustainable waste management, and it has received a great deal of worldwide attention because of its significant environmental and economic potential in material recycling, energy recovery, land reclamation and pollution prevention. This work applied a cost-benefit analysis model for assessing the economic feasibility, which is important for promoting landfill mining. The model includes eight indicators of costs and nine indicators of benefits. Four landfill mining scenarios were designed and analyzed based on field data. The economic feasibility of landfill mining was then evaluated by the indicator of net present value (NPV). According to our case study of a typical old landfill mining project in China (Yingchun landfill), rental of excavation and hauling equipment, waste processing and material transportation were the top three costs of landfill mining, accounting for 88.2% of the total cost, and the average cost per unit of stored waste was 12.7 USD ton −1 . The top three benefits of landfill mining were electricity generation by incineration, land reclamation and recycling soil-like materials. The NPV analysis of the four different scenarios indicated that the Yingchun landfill mining project could obtain a net positive benefit varying from 1.92 million USD to 16.63 million USD. However, the NPV was sensitive to the mode of land reuse, the availability of energy recovery facilities and the possibility of obtaining financial support by avoiding post-closure care

A cost-benefit analysis of landfill mining and material recycling in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Chuanbin, E-mail: cbzhou@rcees.ac.cn; Gong, Zhe; Hu, Junsong; Cao, Aixin; Liang, Hanwen

2015-01-15

Highlights: • Assessing the economic feasibility of landfill mining. • We applied a cost-benefit analysis model for landfill mining. • Four material cycling and energy recovery scenarios were designed. • We used net present value to evaluate the cost-benefit efficiency. - Abstract: Landfill mining is an environmentally-friendly technology that combines the concepts of material recycling and sustainable waste management, and it has received a great deal of worldwide attention because of its significant environmental and economic potential in material recycling, energy recovery, land reclamation and pollution prevention. This work applied a cost-benefit analysis model for assessing the economic feasibility, which is important for promoting landfill mining. The model includes eight indicators of costs and nine indicators of benefits. Four landfill mining scenarios were designed and analyzed based on field data. The economic feasibility of landfill mining was then evaluated by the indicator of net present value (NPV). According to our case study of a typical old landfill mining project in China (Yingchun landfill), rental of excavation and hauling equipment, waste processing and material transportation were the top three costs of landfill mining, accounting for 88.2% of the total cost, and the average cost per unit of stored waste was 12.7 USD ton{sup −1}. The top three benefits of landfill mining were electricity generation by incineration, land reclamation and recycling soil-like materials. The NPV analysis of the four different scenarios indicated that the Yingchun landfill mining project could obtain a net positive benefit varying from 1.92 million USD to 16.63 million USD. However, the NPV was sensitive to the mode of land reuse, the availability of energy recovery facilities and the possibility of obtaining financial support by avoiding post-closure care.

The future of nuclear power in France: an analysis of the costs of phasing-out

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malischek, Raimund; Trüby, Johannes

2016-01-01

Nuclear power is an important pillar in electricity generation in France. However, the French nuclear power plant fleet is ageing, and the possibility of reducing the technology's share in power generation or even a complete phase-out has been increasingly discussed. This paper focuses on three inter-related questions: First, what are the costs of phasing-out nuclear power in France? Second, who has to bear these costs, i.e., how much of the costs will be passed on to the rest of the European power system? And third, what effect does the uncertainty regarding future nuclear policy in France have on system costs? Applying a stochastic optimization model for the European electricity system, the analysis showed that additional system costs in France of a nuclear phase-out amount up to 76 billion €_2_0_1_0. Additional costs are mostly borne by the French power system. Surprisingly, the analysis found that the costs of uncertainty are rather limited. Based on the results, it can be concluded that a commitment regarding nuclear policy reform is only mildly beneficial in terms of system cost savings. - Highlights: • Analysis of different nuclear policy and phase-out scenarios in France. • Nuclear policy uncertainty in France is treated using stochastic programming. • Costs of a nuclear phase-out in France are significant, amounting up to 76 bill €. • Costs of a phase-out are hardly passed on to the rest of the European power system. • Costs of uncertainty are low, implying little benefit of nuclear policy commitment.

Cost benefit analysis of power plant database integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilber, B.E.; Cimento, A.; Stuart, R.

1988-01-01

A cost benefit analysis of plant wide data integration allows utility management to evaluate integration and automation benefits from an economic perspective. With this evaluation, the utility can determine both the quantitative and qualitative savings that can be expected from data integration. The cost benefit analysis is then a planning tool which helps the utility to develop a focused long term implementation strategy that will yield significant near term benefits. This paper presents a flexible cost benefit analysis methodology which is both simple to use and yields accurate, verifiable results. Included in this paper is a list of parameters to consider, a procedure for performing the cost savings analysis, and samples of this procedure when applied to a utility. A case study is presented involving a specific utility where this procedure was applied. Their uses of the cost-benefit analysis are also described

Nuclear costs: indicators and uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leveque, Francois

2013-01-01

In order to identify whether it is better to build a gas plant, a nuclear plant or a wind farm, to identify the technology leading to the lowest KWh cost, to identify under which conditions nuclear production is profitable for a private investor, and to identify whether taking the dismantling cost and the waste storage cost into account modifies the nuclear competitiveness with respect to general interest, the author first discusses the different costs of the nuclear sector, their sensitivity to different factors. In a second part, he proposes a retrospective discussion of cost dynamics. Then, as nuclear technology seems characterized by always increasing costs, and as this trend may last, notably because of safety concerns, the author proposes an analysis of the poor competitiveness of nuclear with respect to its cost

Nurse manager succession planning: A cost-benefit analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Tracy; Evans, Jennifer L; Tooley, Stephanie; Shirey, Maria R

2018-03-01

This commentary presents a cost-benefit analysis to advocate for the use of succession planning to mitigate the problems ensuing from nurse manager turnover. An estimated 75% of nurse managers will leave the workforce by 2020. Many benefits are associated with proactively identifying and developing internal candidates. Fewer than 7% of health care organisations have implemented formal leadership succession planning programmes. A cost-benefit analysis of a formal succession-planning programme from one hospital illustrates the benefits of the programme in their organisation and can be replicated easily. Assumptions of nursing manager succession planning cost-benefit analysis are identified and discussed. The succession planning exemplar demonstrates the integration of cost-benefit analysis principles. Comparing the costs of a formal nurse manager succession planning strategy with the status quo results in a positive cost-benefit ratio. The implementation of a formal nurse manager succession planning programme effectively reduces replacement costs and time to transition into the new role. This programme provides an internal pipeline of future leaders who will be more successful than external candidates. Using an actual cost-benefit analysis equips nurse managers with valuable evidence depicting succession planning as a viable business strategy. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The impact of technology on health care cost and policy development.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallner, Paul E; Konski, Andre

2008-07-01

As health care spending in the United States continues to increase at a pace significantly faster than that of other sectors of the economy, there seems to be greater interest and willingness to consider the root causes of the rise and to explore options for reform. Some of the reasons for cost escalation are associated with a growing and aging population that all too often makes inappropriate personal choices, but others are clearly attributable to growth in the cost of drugs, hospital and nursing home care, provider reimbursement, and durable medical equipment. Some health care economists have suggested that the rapid introduction of new technologies has also played a major role. Vendors understandably desire early market penetration of any new device or technology, but often this may be accomplished before significant evidence of benefit is available. Our current system of device approval unlinked to coverage and payment has produced further disruption in the system. The nature of the problem and consideration of various factors in the introduction, implementation, and evaluation of new technologies will be considered.

Summit Station Skiway Cost Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-01

of fuel delivered to Summit via LC-130 at a price of $32/gal. (Lever et al. 2016), the cost for constructing and maintaining the skiway for the 2014...CRREL TR-16-9 18 The costs associated with the Twin Otter include a day rate plus an hourly mission rate, a per passenger rate, airport fees, fuel, a...ER D C/ CR RE L TR -1 6- 9 Engineering for Polar Operations, Logistics, and Research (EPOLAR) Summit Station Skiway Cost Analysis Co ld

Missing data in trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis: An incomplete journey.

Science.gov (United States)

Leurent, Baptiste; Gomes, Manuel; Carpenter, James R

2018-06-01

Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) conducted alongside randomised trials provide key evidence for informing healthcare decision making, but missing data pose substantive challenges. Recently, there have been a number of developments in methods and guidelines addressing missing data in trials. However, it is unclear whether these developments have permeated CEA practice. This paper critically reviews the extent of and methods used to address missing data in recently published trial-based CEA. Issues of the Health Technology Assessment journal from 2013 to 2015 were searched. Fifty-two eligible studies were identified. Missing data were very common; the median proportion of trial participants with complete cost-effectiveness data was 63% (interquartile range: 47%-81%). The most common approach for the primary analysis was to restrict analysis to those with complete data (43%), followed by multiple imputation (30%). Half of the studies conducted some sort of sensitivity analyses, but only 2 (4%) considered possible departures from the missing-at-random assumption. Further improvements are needed to address missing data in cost-effectiveness analyses conducted alongside randomised trials. These should focus on limiting the extent of missing data, choosing an appropriate method for the primary analysis that is valid under contextually plausible assumptions, and conducting sensitivity analyses to departures from the missing-at-random assumption. © 2018 The Authors Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cost and performance analysis of physical security systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, M.J.; Yates, D.; Jago, W.H.

1997-01-01

CPA - Cost and Performance Analysis - is a prototype integration of existing PC-based cost and performance analysis tools: ACEIT (Automated Cost Estimating Integrated Tools) and ASSESS (Analytic System and Software for Evaluating Safeguards and Security). ACE is an existing DOD PC-based tool that supports cost analysis over the full life cycle of a system; that is, the cost to procure, operate, maintain and retire the system and all of its components. ASSESS is an existing DOE PC-based tool for analysis of performance of physical protection systems. Through CPA, the cost and performance data are collected into Excel workbooks, making the data readily available to analysts and decision makers in both tabular and graphical formats and at both the system and subsystem levels. The structure of the cost spreadsheets incorporates an activity-based approach to cost estimation. Activity-based costing (ABC) is an accounting philosophy used by industry to trace direct and indirect costs to the products or services of a business unit. By tracing costs through security sensors and procedures and then mapping the contributions of the various sensors and procedures to system effectiveness, the CPA architecture can provide security managers with information critical for both operational and strategic decisions. The architecture, features and applications of the CPA prototype are presented. 5 refs., 3 figs

Internalisation of external cost in the power generation sector: Analysis with Global Multi-regional MARKAL model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafaj, Peter; Kypreos, Socrates

2007-01-01

The Global MARKAL-Model (GMM), a multi-regional 'bottom-up' partial equilibrium model of the global energy system with endogenous technological learning, is used to address impacts of internalisation of external costs from power production. This modelling approach imposes additional charges on electricity generation, which reflect the costs of environmental and health damages from local pollutants (SO 2 , NO x ) and climate change, wastes, occupational health, risk of accidents, noise and other burdens. Technologies allowing abatement of pollutants emitted from power plants are rapidly introduced into the energy system, for example, desulphurisation, NO x removal, and CO 2 scrubbers. The modelling results indicate substantial changes in the electricity production system in favour of natural gas combined cycle, nuclear power and renewables induced by internalisation of external costs and also efficiency loss due to the use of scrubbers. Structural changes and fuel switching in the electricity sector result in significant reduction of emissions of both local pollution and CO 2 over the modelled time period. Strong decarbonisation impact of internalising local externalities suggests that ancillary benefits can be expected from policies directly addressing other issues then CO 2 mitigation. Finally, the detailed analysis of the total generation cost of different technologies points out that inclusion of external cost in the price of electricity increases competitiveness of non-fossil generation sources and fossil power plants with emission control

Energy information systems (EIS): Technology costs, benefit, and best practice uses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Granderson, Jessica; Lin, Guanjing; Piette, Mary Ann

2013-11-26

Energy information systems are the web-based software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems used to store, analyze, and display building energy data. They often include analysis methods such as baselining, benchmarking, load profiling, and energy anomaly detection. This report documents a large-scale assessment of energy information system (EIS) uses, costs, and energy benefits, based on a series of focused case study investigations that are synthesized into generalizable findings. The overall objective is to provide organizational decision makers with the information they need to make informed choices as to whether or not to invest in an EIS--a promising technology that can enable up to 20 percent site energy savings, quick payback, and persistent low-energy performance when implemented as part of best-practice energy management programs.

Transaction costs, externalities and information technology in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, B; Keen, J

1996-01-01

This paper discusses some of the economic issues which underpin the rationale for investment in information and communications technologies (ICTs). Information imperfections lead to significant transaction costs (search, negotiating and monitoring) which in turn confer a negative externality on parties involved in exchange. This divergence in private and social costs leads to a degree of resource misallocation (efficiency loss) which, uncorrected, results in a sub-optimal outcome. Traditional solutions to this problem are to rely upon direct government action to reduce the costs of transacting between market agents, or to employ tax/subsidy measures and other legislative action to achieve the desired market outcome. Three key policy questions are raised in the context of the NHS purchaser/provider relationship. Firstly, what is the optimum level of transaction costs; secondly, can ICTs assist in lowering the level of transaction costs to the optimum level; thirdly, who should bear the investment cost in reducing the level of transaction costs? The issue of property rights in different information systems is discussed and raises interesting policy questions about how much investment should be undertaken centrally rather than devolved to a more local level. In some ways this economic framework offers a post hoc justification of why different ICT systems have been introduced at various levels of the NHS. Essentially this reduces to the problem of externalities: providing good information confers a positive externality: not providing relevant, timely and accurate information confers a negative externality, by increasing further the level of transaction costs. The crucial role which ICT systems can play lies in attempting to reduce the level of transaction costs and driving the market towards what Dahlman has described as the transaction-cost-constrained equilibrium.

Cost-efficient demand-pull policies for multi-purpose technologies – The case of stationary electricity storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battke, Benedikt; Schmidt, Tobias S.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A definition of multi-purpose technologies (MPTs) is proposed. • Opportunities for a cost-efficient demand-pull policy strategy for MPTs are derived. • The multi-purpose character of stationary electricity storage (SES) is shown. • An exemplary profitability assessment of one SES technology supports the argument. - Abstract: Stationary electricity storage technologies (SES) allow to increase the shares of intermittent renewable energy technologies in electricity networks. As SES currently exhibit high costs, policy makers have started introducing demand-pull policies in order to foster their diffusion and drive these technologies further down the learning curve. However, as observed in the case of renewable energy technologies, demand-pull policies for technologies can come at high costs in cases where the profitability gap that needs to be covered by the policy support is large. Yet, SES can create value in multiple distinct applications in the power system – making it a “multi-purpose technology”. We argue that policy makers can make use of the multi-purpose character of SES to limit costs of demand-pull policies. We propose a policy strategy which grants support based on the profitability gap in the different applications, thereby moving down the learning curve efficiently. To support our argumentation, we firstly conduct a comprehensive literature review of SES applications exemplifying the multi-purpose character of these technologies. Second, we assess the profitability of one SES technology (vanadium redox flow battery) in five SES applications, highlighting a strong variation of the profitability gap across these applications

Cost-Optimal Analysis for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings Design and Optimization: A Critical Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Ferrara

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Since the introduction of the recast of the EPBD European Directive 2010/31/EU, many studies on the cost-effective feasibility of nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs were carried out either by academic research bodies and by national bodies. In particular, the introduction of the cost-optimal methodology has given a strong impulse to research in this field. This paper presents a comprehensive and significant review on scientific works based on the application of cost-optimal analysis applications in Europe since the EPBD recast entered into force, pointing out the differences in the analyzed studies and comparing their outcomes before the new recast of EPBD enters into force in 2018. The analysis is conducted with special regard to the methods used for the energy performance assessment, the global cost calculation, and for the selection of the energy efficiency measures leading to design optimization. A critical discussion about the assumptions on which the studies are based and the resulting gaps between the resulting cost-optimal performance and the zero energy target is provided together with a summary of the resulting cost-optimal set of technologies to be used for cost-optimal NZEB design in different contexts. It is shown that the cost-optimal approach results as an effective method for delineating the future of NZEB design throughout Europe while emerging criticalities and open research issues are presented.

Novel, low-cost alternative technologies to tackle practical, industrial conundrums – a case study of batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chan Victor K. Y.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Whereas batteries in comparison with most other means of energy storage are more environmentally friendly and economical in their operation, they are beset by low energy replenishment rates, low energy storage density, high capital cost of themselves, and high capital cost of energy replenishment infrastructures. Mainly based on ergonomics, this paper proposes a novel, low-cost alternative technology to practically and industrially make these weaknesses irrelevant to some extent without calling for revolutionary technological breakthroughs in material science, batteries’ microstructures, or battery manufacturing technologies. The technology takes advantage of modularization of battery systems, prioritization of charging and discharging of battery module(s according to ease of unloading and/or loading the battery module(s and/or ease of loading replacement battery module(s of the battery module(s.

Cost benefit analysis for optimization of radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindell, B.

1984-01-01

ICRP recommends three basic principles for radiation protection. One is the justification of the source. Any use of radiation should be justified with regard to its benefit. The second is the optimization of radiation protection, i.e. all radiation exposure should be kept as low as resonably achievable. And the third principle is that there should be a limit for the radiation dose that any individual receives. Cost benefit assessment or cost benefit analysis is one tool to achieve the optimization, but the optimization is not identical with cost benefit analysis. Basically, in principle, the cost benefit analysis for the optimization of radiation protection is to find the minimum sum of the cost of protection and some cost of detriment. (Mori, K.)

Transportation Energy Futures Series: Non-Cost Barriers to Consumer Adoption of New Light-Duty Vehicle Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stephens, T.

2013-03-01

Consumer preferences are key to the adoption of new vehicle technologies. Barriers to consumer adoption include price and other obstacles, such as limited driving range and charging infrastructure; unfamiliarity with the technology and uncertainty about direct benefits; limited makes and models with the technology; reputation or perception of the technology; standardization issues; and regulations. For each of these non-cost barriers, this report estimates an effective cost and summarizes underlying influences on consumer preferences, approximate magnitude and relative severity, and assesses potential actions, based on a comprehensive literature review. While the report concludes that non-cost barriers are significant, effective cost and potential market share are very uncertain. Policies and programs including opportunities for drivers to test drive advanced vehicles, general public outreach and information programs, incentives for providing charging and fueling infrastructure, and development of technology standards were examined for their ability to address barriers, but little quantitative data exists on the effectiveness of these measures. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation.

Quantifying the value of E and P technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinemann, R.F.; Donlon, W.P.; Hoefner, M.L.

1996-01-01

A quantitative value-to-cost analysis was performed for the upstream technology portfolio of Mobil Oil for the period 1993 to 1998, by quantifying the cost of developing and delivering various technologies, including the net present value from technologies applied to thirty major assets. The value captured was classified into four general categories: (1) reduced capital costs, (2) reduced operating costs, (3) increased hydrocarbon production, and (4) increased proven reserves. The methodology used in quantifying the value-to-cost of upstream technologies and the results of asset analysis were described, with examples of value of technology to specific assets. A method to incorporate strategic considerations and business alignment to set overall program priorities was also discussed. Identifying and quantifying specific cases of technology application on an asset by asset basis was considered to be the principal advantage of using this method. figs

Further development of the cleanable steel HEPA filter, cost/benefit analysis, and comparison with competing technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergman, W.; Lopez, R.; Wilson, K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)] [and others

1997-08-01

We have made further progress in developing a cleanable steel fiber HEPA filter. We fabricated a pleated cylindrical cartridge using commercially available steel fiber media that is made with 1 {mu}m stainless steel fibers and sintered into a sheet form. Test results at the Department of Energy (DOE) Filter Test Station at Oak Ridge show the prototype filter cartridge has 99.99% efficiency for 0.3 {mu}m dioctyl phthalate (DOP) aerosols and a pressure drop of 1.5 inches. Filter loading and cleaning tests using AC Fine dust showed the filter could be repeatedly cleaned using reverse air pulses. Our analysis of commercially optimized filters suggest that cleanable steel HEPA filters need to be made from steel fibers less than 1{mu}m, and preferably 0.5 {mu}m, to meet the standard HEPA filter requirements in production units. We have demonstrated that 0.5 {mu}m steel fibers can be produced using the fiber bundling and drawing process. The 0.5 {mu}m steel fibers are then sintered into small filter samples and tested for efficiency and pressure drop. Test results on the sample showed a penetration of 0.0015 % at 0.3 {mu}m and a pressure drop of 1.15 inches at 6.9 ft/min (3.5 cm/s) velocity. Based on these results, steel fiber media can easily meet the requirements of 0.03 % penetration and 1.0 inch of pressure drop by using less fibers in the media. A cost analysis of the cleanable steel HEPA filter shows that, although the steel HEPA filter costs much more than the standard glass fiber HEPA filter, it has the potential to be very cost effective because of the high disposal costs of contaminated HEPA filters. We estimate that the steel HEPA filter will save an average of $16,000 over its 30 year life. The additional savings from the clean-up costs resulting from ruptured glass HEPA filters during accidents was not included but makes the steel HEPA filter even more cost effective. 33 refs., 28 figs., 1 tab.

PLACE OF PRODUCTION COSTS SYSTEM ANALYSIS IN SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariia CHEREDNYCHENKO

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Current economic conditions require the development and implementation of an adequate system of production costs, which would ensure a steady profit growth and production volumes in a highly competitive, constantly increasing input prices and tariffs. This management system must be based on an integrated production costs system analysis (PCSA, which would provide all operating costs management subsystems necessary information to design and make better management decisions. It provides a systematic analysis of more opportunities in knowledge, creating conditions of integrity mechanism knowledge object consisting of elements that show intersystem connections, each of which has its own defined and limited objectives, relationship with the environment.

Technology choice in a least-cost expansion analysis framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guziel, K.A.; South, D.W.

1990-01-01

This paper reports that the current outlook for new capacity additions by electric utilities is uncertain and tenuous. Regardless of the amount, it is inevitable that new capacity will be needed in the 1990s and beyond. The fundamental question about the additional capacity requirements centers on technology choice and the factors influencing the decision process. Under current market conditions, utilities have become capital aversive due to rate base disallowances by state regulatory commissions, difficulties in funding long-term capital-intensive projects, uncertainties about future demand, and the ability to purchase power from sources such as independent power producers (IPPs) and cogenerators. Instead of building capital-intensive power plants, utilities have begun relying on natural gas technologies, which permit rapid construction/deployment and low capital investment

Endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms - a cost analysis | Le ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The average cost for endovascular treatment per patient was R37 041. Surgical treatment was more expensive at R44 104, a difference of 16%. Conclusions. Despite the high cost of endovascular devices, appropriate use of this technology ultimately offers less expensive treatment than microsurgical clipping of aneurysms.

Liberalised electricity markets, new bioenergy technologies, and GHG emission reductions: interactions and CO2 mitigation costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustavsson, L.; Madlener, R.

1999-01-01

We contrast recent developments in power and heat production with bioenergy, and natural-gas-fired condensing plants with and without decarbonisation, in the light of electricity market liberalisation. Our main focus is on CO 2 mitigation costs and carbon tax sensitivity of production costs. We find that CO 2 mitigation costs are lower for biomass systems using IGCC technology than for natural gas system using decarbonisation. However, based on current fuel prices natural-gas fired co-generation plants have the lowest production costs. Hence energy policy measures will be needed to promote biomass technologies and decarbonisation options on a liberalised market. (author)

Cost-benefit analysis and non-utilitarian ethics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lowry, R.J.; Peterson, M.B.

2012-01-01

Cost-benefit analysis is commonly understood to be intimately connected with utilitarianism and incompatible with other moral theories, particularly those that focus on deontological concepts such as rights. We reject this claim and argue that cost-benefit analysis can take moral rights as well as

41 CFR 105-72.505 - Cost and price analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost and price analysis... § 105-72.505 Cost and price analysis. Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in the procurement files in connection with every procurement action. Price analysis may be...

Cost update: Technology, safety, and costs of decommissioning a reference uranium fuel fabrication plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miles, T.L.; Liu, Y.

1994-06-01

The cost estimates originally developed in NUREG/CR-1266 for commissioning a reference low-enrichment uranium fuel fabrication plant are updated from 1978 to early 1993 dollars. During this time, the costs for labor and materials increased approximately at the rate of inflation, the cost of energy increased more slowly than the rate of inflation, and the cost of low-level radioactive waste disposal increased much more rapidly than the rate of inflation. The results of the analysis indicate that the estimated costs for the immediate dismantlement and decontamination for unrestricted facility release (DECON) of the reference plant have increased from the mid-1978 value of $3.57 million to $8.08 million in 1993 with in-compact low-level radioactive waste disposal at the US Ecoloay facility near Richland, Washington. The cost estimate rises to $19.62 million with out-of-compact radioactive waste disposal at the Chem-Nuclear facility near Barnwell, South Carolina. A methodology and a formula are presented for estimating the cost of decommissioning the reference uranium fuel fabrication plant at some future time, based on these early 1993 cost estimates. The formula contains essentially the same elements as the formula given in 10 CFR 50.75 for escalating the decommissioning costs for nuclear power reactors to some future time

Cost-effectiveness analysis of sandhill crane habitat management

Science.gov (United States)

Kessler, Andrew C.; Merchant, James W.; Shultz, Steven D.; Allen, Craig R.

2013-01-01

Invasive species often threaten native wildlife populations and strain the budgets of agencies charged with wildlife management. We demonstrate the potential of cost-effectiveness analysis to improve the efficiency and value of efforts to enhance sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) roosting habitat. We focus on the central Platte River in Nebraska (USA), a region of international ecological importance for migrating avian species including sandhill cranes. Cost-effectiveness analysis is a valuation process designed to compare alternative actions based on the cost of achieving a pre-determined objective. We estimated costs for removal of invasive vegetation using geographic information system simulations and calculated benefits as the increase in area of sandhill crane roosting habitat. We generated cost effectiveness values for removing invasive vegetation on 7 land parcels and for the entire central Platte River to compare the cost-effectiveness of management at specific sites and for the central Platte River landscape. Median cost effectiveness values for the 7 land parcels evaluated suggest that costs for creating 1 additional hectare of sandhill crane roosting habitat totaled US $1,595. By contrast, we found that creating an additional hectare of sandhill crane roosting habitat could cost as much as US $12,010 for some areas in the central Platte River, indicating substantial cost savings can be achieved by using a cost effectiveness analysis to target specific land parcels for management. Cost-effectiveness analysis, used in conjunction with geographic information systems, can provide decision-makers with a new tool for identifying the most economically efficient allocation of resources to achieve habitat management goals.

U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Storage Cost Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Law, Karen; Rosenfeld, Jeffrey; Han, Vickie; Chan, Michael; Chiang, Helena; Leonard, Jon

2013-03-11

The overall objective of this project is to conduct cost analyses and estimate costs for on- and off-board hydrogen storage technologies under development by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on a consistent, independent basis. This can help guide DOE and stakeholders toward the most-promising research, development and commercialization pathways for hydrogen-fueled vehicles. A specific focus of the project is to estimate hydrogen storage system cost in high-volume production scenarios relative to the DOE target that was in place when this cost analysis was initiated. This report and its results reflect work conducted by TIAX between 2004 and 2012, including recent refinements and updates. The report provides a system-level evaluation of costs and performance for four broad categories of on-board hydrogen storage: (1) reversible on-board metal hydrides (e.g., magnesium hydride, sodium alanate); (2) regenerable off-board chemical hydrogen storage materials(e.g., hydrolysis of sodium borohydride, ammonia borane); (3) high surface area sorbents (e.g., carbon-based materials); and 4) advanced physical storage (e.g., 700-bar compressed, cryo-compressed and liquid hydrogen). Additionally, the off-board efficiency and processing costs of several hydrogen storage systems were evaluated and reported, including: (1) liquid carrier, (2) sodium borohydride, (3) ammonia borane, and (4) magnesium hydride. TIAX applied a bottom-up costing methodology customized to analyze and quantify the processes used in the manufacture of hydrogen storage systems. This methodology, used in conjunction with ® software and other tools, developed costs for all major tank components, balance-of-tank, tank assembly, and system assembly. Based on this methodology, the figure below shows the projected on-board high-volume factory costs of the various analyzed hydrogen storage systems, as designed. Reductions in the key cost drivers may bring hydrogen storage system costs closer to this DOE target

Cost, Time, and Risk Assessment of Different Wave Energy Converter Technology Development Trajectories: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weber, Jochem W [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Laird, Daniel [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Costello, Ronan [Wave Venture; Roberts, Jesse [Sandia National Laboratories; Bull, Diana [Sandia National Laboratories; Babarit, Aurelien [Ecole Centrale de Nantes; Nielsen, Kim [Ramboll; Ferreira, Claudio Bittencourt [DNV-GL; Kennedy, Ben [Wave Venture

2017-09-14

This paper presents a comparative assessment of three fundamentally different wave energy converter technology development trajectories. The three technology development trajectories are expressed and visualised as a function of technology readiness levels and technology performance levels. The assessment shows that development trajectories that initially prioritize technology readiness over technology performance are likely to require twice the development time, consume a threefold of the development cost, and are prone to a risk of technical or commercial failure of one order of magnitude higher than those development trajectories that initially prioritize technology performance over technology readiness.

Cost-benefit calculation of phytoremediation technology for heavy-metal-contaminated soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Xiaoming; Lei, Mei; Chen, Tongbin

2016-09-01

Heavy-metal pollution of soil is a serious issue worldwide, particularly in China. Soil remediation is one of the most difficult management issues for municipal and state agencies because of its high cost. A two-year phytoremediation project for soil contaminated with arsenic, cadmium, and lead was implemented to determine the essential parameters for soil remediation. Results showed highly efficient heavy metal removal. Costs and benefits of this project were calculated. The total cost of phytoremediation was US$75,375.2/hm(2) or US$37.7/m(3), with initial capital and operational costs accounting for 46.02% and 53.98%, respectively. The costs of infrastructures (i.e., roads, bridges, and culverts) and fertilizer were the highest, mainly because of slow economic development and serious contamination. The cost of phytoremediation was lower than the reported values of other remediation technologies. Improving the mechanization level of phytoremediation and accurately predicting or preventing unforeseen situations were suggested for further cost reduction. Considering the loss caused by environmental pollution, the benefits of phytoremediation will offset the project costs in less than seven years. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Physical Protection System Upgrades - Optimizing for Performance and Cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, Mary Jane; Bouchard, Ann M.

1999-01-01

CPA--Cost and Performance Analysis--is an architecture that supports analysis of physical protection systems and upgrade options. ASSESS (Analytic System and Software for Evaluating Security Systems), a tool for evaluating performance of physical protection systems, currently forms the cornerstone for evaluating detection probabilities and delay times of the system. Cost and performance data are offered to the decision-maker at the systems level and to technologists at the path-element level. A new optimization engine has been attached to the CPA methodology to automate analyses of many combinations (portfolios) of technologies. That engine controls a new analysis sequencer that automatically modifies ASSESS PPS files (facility descriptions), automatically invokes ASSESS Outsider analysis and then saves results for post-processing. Users can constrain the search to an upper bound on total cost, to a lower bound on level of performance, or to include specific technologies or technology types. This process has been applied to a set of technology development proposals to identify those portfolios that provide the most improvement in physical security for the lowest cost to install, operate and maintain at a baseline facility

Using a Hybrid Cost-FMEA Analysis for Wind Turbine Reliability Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nacef Tazi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA has been proven to be an effective methodology to improve system design reliability. However, the standard approach reveals some weaknesses when applied to wind turbine systems. The conventional criticality assessment method has been criticized as having many limitations such as the weighting of severity and detection factors. In this paper, we aim to overcome these drawbacks and develop a hybrid cost-FMEA by integrating cost factors to assess the criticality, these costs vary from replacement costs to expected failure costs. Then, a quantitative comparative study is carried out to point out average failure rate, main cause of failure, expected failure costs and failure detection techniques. A special reliability analysis of gearbox and rotor-blades are presented.

The cost-effectiveness of multi-purpose HIV and pregnancy prevention technologies in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Quaife, Matthew; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Eakle, Robyn; Cabrera Escobar, Maria A; Kilbourne-Brook, Maggie; Mvundura, Mercy; Meyer-Rath, Gesine; Delany-Moretlwe, Sinead; Vickerman, Peter

2018-03-01

A number of antiretroviral HIV prevention products are efficacious in preventing HIV infection. However, the sexual and reproductive health needs of many women extend beyond HIV prevention, and research is ongoing to develop multi-purpose prevention technologies (MPTs) that offer dual HIV and pregnancy protection. We do not yet know if these products will be an efficient use of constrained health resources. In this paper, we estimate the cost-effectiveness of combinations of candidate multi-purpose prevention technologies (MPTs), in South Africa among general population women and female sex workers (FSWs). We combined a cost model with a static model of product impact based on incidence data in South Africa to estimate the cost-effectiveness of five candidate co-formulated or co-provided MPTs: oral PrEP, intravaginal ring, injectable ARV, microbicide gel and SILCS diaphragm used in concert with gel. We accounted for the preferences of end-users by predicting uptake using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Product availability and protection were systematically varied in five potential rollout scenarios. The impact model estimated the number of infections averted through decreased incidence due to product use over one year. The comparator for each scenario was current levels of male condom use, while a health system perspective was used to estimate discounted lifetime treatment costs averted per HIV infection. Product benefit was estimated in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. Benefits from contraception were incorporated through adjusting the uptake of these products based on the DCE and through estimating the costs averted from avoiding unwanted pregnancies. We explore the additional impact of STI protection through increased uptake in a sensitivity analysis. At central incidence rates, all single- and multi-purpose scenarios modelled were cost-effective among FSWs and women aged 16-24, at a governmental willingness-to-pay threshold of $1175/DALY

The determinants of hospital cost: a cost-volume-profit analysis of health services in the occupied territories: Palestine.

Science.gov (United States)

Younis, Mustafa Z; Jaber, Samer; Smith, Pamela C; Hartmann, Michael; Bongyu, Moye

2010-06-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the unit costs of a multi-service hospital in Palestine for the period 2005-2007. We investigate the cost structure of the Rafidya Hospital located in Nablus city, for both inpatient and outpatient departments. This study uses cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis, also known as breakeven analysis. CVP analysis requires examining total costs, along with fixed and variable costs. CVP analysis illuminates how changes in assumptions about cost behaviour and the relevant range in which those assumptions are valid affect the relationships among revenues, variable costs and fixed costs at various production levels. For the hospital of interest, we find that fixed costs account for 70% of total costs, and variable costs were 30% of total costs. Inpatient departments accounted for 86% of total costs, and outpatient departments were 14% of total costs. Results of the breakeven analysis illustrate that several departments charge sufficient fees to cover all unit costs. Results provide useful information about unit cost based on four categories: (1) unit cost per admission of each department, (2) unit cost per patient day of each department, (3) unit cost per admission with annual capital cost of each department and (4) unit cost per patient day with annual capital cost. Our results provide hospital cost information that can be used by decision-makers to provide and expand healthcare services, in an effort to increase sustainability and profitability. The use of cost analysis by administrators and regulators will improve the quality of financial information, as well as enhance the efficient use of scarce resources.

Wood chip production technology and costs for fuel in Namibia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leinonen, A.

2007-12-15

This work has been done in the project where the main target is to evaluate the technology and economy to use bush biomass for power production in Namibia. The project has been financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry of the Republic of Namibia. The target of this study is to calculate the production costs of bush chips at the power plant using the current production technology and to look possibilities to develop production technology in order to mechanize production technology and to decrease the production costs. The wood production costs are used in feasibility studies, in which the technology and economy of utilization of wood chips for power generation in 5, 10 and 20 MW electric power plants and for power generation in Van Eck coal fired power plant in Windhoek are evaluated. Field tests were made at Cheetah Conservation Farm (CCF) in Otjiwarongo region. CCF is producing wood chips for briquette factory in Otjiwarongo. In the field tests it has been gathered information about this CCF semi-mechanized wood chip production technology. Also new machines for bush biomass chip production have been tested. A new mechanized production chain has been designed on the basis of this information. The production costs for the CCF semi-mechanized and the new production chain have been calculated. The target in the moisture content to produce wood chips for energy is 20 w-%. In the semi-mechanized wood chip production chain the work is done partly manually, and the supply chain is organized into crews of 4.8 men. The production chain consists of manual felling and compiling, drying, chipping with mobile chipper and manual feeding and road transport by a tractor with two trailers. The CCF production chain works well. The chipping and road transport productivity in the semimechanized production chain is low. New production machines, such as chainsaw, brush cutter, lawn mover type cutter, rotator saw in skid

40 CFR 30.45 - Cost and price analysis.