The federal financing of large-scale engineering projects
Abstract The financial condition of the federal government can not be a source of comfort to the managers of large-scale projects. On the one hand, a gradual absorption of the large deficits into a growing economy increases the financial risks of large projects. On the other hand, the significant cuts in federal spending are likely to fall disproportionately on these same projects. As a result strategic thinking about such ventures will need to include: a) financial mechanisms that place greater reliance on private resources, states and localities and, with that reliance, allow greater non-federal participation in project design and management; b) the way that the financial structure of a large-scale project can build and nurture the coalition of interests essential for its survival; c) the concept that a large scale project is a provider of services, rather than an object of intrinsic value; and d) meshing the financial and technological characteristics of a macro-engineering project with these new realities.
The Space Shuttle Program: A Policy Failure?
The 5 January 1972 announcement by President Richard Nixon that the United States would develop during the 1970's a new space transportation system—the space shuttle—has had fundamental impacts on the character of U.S. space activities. In retrospect, it can be argued that the shuttle design chosen was destined to fail to meet many of the policy objectives established for the system; the shuttle's problems in serving as the primary launch vehicle for the United States and in providing routine and cost-effective space transportation are in large part a result of the ways in which compromises were made in the 1971-72 period in order to gain White House and congressional approval to proceed with the program. The decision to develop a space shuttle is an example of a poor quality national commitment to a major technological undertaking.
Cool Water Coal Gasification Program
The Cool Water Coal Gasification Program is a commercial-scale synthetic fuels project comprising the first integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. In this IGCC plant coal is converted to a medium-heating-value synthesis gas (about 280 British thermal units per standard cubic foot) using the Texaco Coal Gasification Process. The clean synthesis gas is fired in a combustion turbine of a combined cycle system, and the sensible heat is utilized to raise steam. The steam, which is produced in a syngas cooler and a heat recovery steam generator, is used to drive a steam turbine downstream of the combustion turbine. Electricity production from this $284 million project is approximately 100 net megawatts, equivalent to the electricity produced from about 4300 barrels of oil. The plant is currently in its initial startup phase, and operation by the Cool Water Program is planned for 5 years, followed by possible continued operation by Southern California Edison for an additional 15 years.