The foreseeable energy future will be driven by economics of known technologies and the desire to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Renewable energy options are compared with each other and with the use of fossil fuels with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Economic analysis is used to determine the best of several alternatives. One can disagree on the detailed costs, including externalities such as climate change and air and water pollution. But the differences in capital and operating costs between known technologies are so significant that one can draw clear conclusions. Results show that renewable energy cannot compete with fossil fuels on a cost basis alone because energy is intrinsic to the molecule, except for hydroelectricity. However, fossil fuels are implicated in climate change. Using renewable energy exclusively, including transportation and electricity needs, could reduce the standard of living in the United States by 43% to 62%, which would correspond to the level in about 1970. If capture and sequester of CO2 are implemented, the cost of using fossil fuels will increase, but they beat renewable energy handily as an economic way to produce clean energy.

中文翻译：

---

能源的未来。

可预见的能源未来将由已知技术的经济学和减少向大气中排放二氧化碳的愿望所驱动。将可再生能源的选择方案相互比较，并结合使用具有碳捕获和封存（CCS）功能的化石燃料进行比较。经济分析用于确定几种备选方案中的最佳方案。人们可能会在详细成本上存在分歧，包括气候变化以及空气和水污染等外部性。但是，已知技术之间的资金和运营成本差异如此之大，以至于可以得出明确的结论。结果表明，可再生能源不能仅凭成本就能与化石燃料竞争，因为除了水力发电以外，能源是分子固有的。但是，化石燃料与气候变化有关。仅使用可再生能源，