Comparing the different energy sources and their costs of production helps us to get a good grasp on what is feasible and what is not. Before the energy can be produced, the equipment that will extract the energy from its raw form needs to be built. When concerned with prices to set up the initial energy conversion process (per kWh), it should be no surprise that solar energy is the most expensive. The solar collectors are very pricey, and the amount of energy and efficiency at which the energy is extracted not overly impressive numbers. The next most expensive to construct (per kWh) is wind energy. Wind turbines are a huge capital investment, but if they are placed in strategic locations the amount of energy they produce can make up for some of that cost. The wind energy construction phase is 1/3 times as expensive (per kWh) to solar energy. Hydroelectricity is the most cost effective but is limited by the number of geographic locations needed to construct the dam. Nuclear energy and coal are the next most cost effective sources. Of these two there may be more potential for future exploration of nuclear energy. The energy extraction processes have gotten more efficient over the years for both of these sources but the potential for nuclear seems to be very high.
Petroleum and natural gas plants are used throughout most of the world and these two lie about in the middle for cost of energy production. Of course, petroleum is a limited source and in the future we may see the industry turning away from its use. The idea of sustainability has greater influence on our culture now than it ever has.
