Birth to death analysis of the energy payback ratio and CO2 gas emission rates from coal, fission, wind, and DT-fusion electrical power plants

The amount of electrical energy produced over the lifetime of coal, LWR fission, UP fusion, and wind power plants is compared to the total amount of energy required to procure the fuel, build, operate, and decommission the power plants. The energy payback ratio varies from a low of 11 for coal plants to a high of 27 for DT-fusion plants. The magnitude of the energy investment and the source of the various energy inputs determine the CO2 emission factor. This number varies from a low of 9 to a high of 974 tonnes of CO2 per GW(e)h for DT-fusion and coal plants, respectively. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.