336 Engineering Response to Climate Change
advanced forms of energy, and with coal. However, at present, the lower
cost range is populated only by more innovative concepts, ranging from
advanced tokamaks with advanced materials to other connement concepts
that involve more unknowns than conventional (well-demonstrated) toka-
maks, which are predicted to occupy the higher cost range. Researchers are
achieving some success in reducing the costs with innovative concepts, by
simplifying old concepts or devising cheaper manufacturing techniques to
reduce capital costs, and by introducing concepts that reduce the downtime
for periodic maintenance.
However, we note that estimating the future costs of electricity is fraught
with uncertainties, even ...