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Abstract: Flexible operation of a CCS plant can lower the cost of foregone electricity sales in competitive wholesale electricity markets but reduces the amount of CO2 captured over the life-time of a CCS plant and increases the capital cost of CCS systems per unit of emissions captured. Whether the benefits of flexible CCS exceed the increased costs depends on a relationship between capital and operating costs and cyclical electricity price differentials. In this paper we explore these trade-offs, propose a method to quantify them and apply this framework to U.S. data on CCS capital costs and electricity prices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A survey was designed to elicit donations for delaying inevitable aquatic invasions of inland water bodies within a respondent's region. Surveys were distributed throughout the United States. Assuming all aquatic species groups invade simultaneously, our results suggest that the average person was willing to make a one-time payment of $48 to delay low to high impacts one year (aggregates to nearly $4billion for all U.S. households). By comparison, the federal government currently (2006) invests $394million annually for all invasive species (aquatic and terrestrial) prevention and early detection/rapid response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The US Clean Air Act Amendments introduce an emissions trading system to regulate SO2 emissions. This study finds that changes in SO2 emissions prices are related to innovations induced by these amendments. We find that electricity-generating plants are able to increase electricity output and reduce emissions of SO2 and NO x from 1995 to 2007 due to the introduction of the allowance trading system. However, compared to the approximate 8% per year of exogenous technological progress, the induced effect is relatively small, and the contribution of the induced effect to overall technological progress is about 1–2%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]