4.1 Evaluation of alter native energy options
I HA believes t hat br oad ener gy option assess ment shoul d be t he responsibility of national and/or regional gover n ments as part of t heir ener gy develop ment strategy.
Govern ments and,where applicable,project proponents should apply sustainability criteria when co mparing project alter natives in or der to f ocus on options t hat maxi mise environ mental,social and economic benefits and,conversely,eli minate unacceptable alter natives early in the planning process.
Each option is different and it is not al ways possible to directly compare one alter native with another.It is nevertheless i mportant that relevant co mparisons are made in relation to t he basic sustainability of a pr oject.It shoul d also be realized t hat an infinite variety of options is never available and f undamental factors such as aff or dability,resource availability and scale of requirements define t he possible options that need to be assessed.
The sustainability of an option is relevant to t he envir on mental assess ment and regulator y appr oval pr ocesses.Proponents need to demonstrate t hat t heir reco mmended option is sustainable and of net benefit to t he co mmunity.To facilitate t his,earl y engagement wit h relevant stakehol ders on t he co mparative benefits of feasible options is reco mmended.
Table 1 below lists key criteria for assessing sustainability bet ween various energy options.(https://www.daowen.com)
Table 1 Key criteria that should be used in comparing various energy options
