Neste trabalho é apresentado o suporte teórico necessário para a aplicação do apreçamento de opções reais com incertezas exógenas, inclusive com incertezas nãocomercializadas ou em mercados incompletos. Em seguida, o processo de modelagem de opções reais é analisado, sugere-se uma estrutura de modelagem de projetos com flexibilidade a partir de suas incertezas básicas, e comparam-se as duas principais abordagens atuais de modelagem de opções reais. / In this work is presented the theoretical support needed for the application of real options pricing with exogenous uncertainties, include non-traded uncertainties and incomplete market uncertainties. It is also analyzed the process of real options modeling, suggesting a framework of project modeling with flexibility from its basic uncertainties, and it is compared the two main approaches for valuing real options.

Orientador: Ariovaldo Denis Granja / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T21:36:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Yoshimura_EduardoKoiti_M.pdf: 1509592 bytes, checksum: 8e3fa8ff3f4d583a674b86a3beccaf65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Muitas empresas estão sendo forçadas a buscar uma rápida adaptação às mudanças, num ambiente de acirrada competição e incerteza futura, procurando investir em empreendimentos que proporcionem seu crescimento. Nesse novo cenário, os empreendimentos precisam criar alternativas que ofereçam maiores oportunidades. A incorporação de atributos de flexibilidade já na concepção do empreendimento permite que o risco e a incerteza sejam encarados como oportunidades estratégicas a serem exploradas. Recentemente, ressalvas têm sido direcionadas às técnicas convencionais de orçamento de capitais, tais como o Fluxo de Caixa Descontado (FCD). A análise de opções reais (ROA) destina-se à valoração e tomada de decisões de investimentos em ativos reais e, por sua vez, os investimentos da construção civil podem ser caracterizados como tais, pois normalmente apresentam longo prazo de maturação, são ricos em contingências, possuem irreversibilidade nos seus investimentos, e estão sujeitos a condições de incerteza tais como as econômicas. Nesta pesquisa, propõe-se uma abordagem exploratória por meio de um estudo de caso no setor da construção civil onde a ROA é utilizada. Estabelece-se como hipótese que a abordagem com base em ROA pode complementar os métodos tradicionais com base em FCD, bem como tornar mais aparentes as oportunidades contidas nestes tipos de investimento. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho mostram que a abordagem com ROA produzem resultados superiores em relação ao valor do empreendimento quando comparada à análise restrita a métodos com base em FCD, de forma a proporcionar um efetivo gerenciamento e estabelecimento de uma nova cultura empresarial em empreendimentos da construção civil. / Abstract: Many companies are being forced to seek rapid adaptation to changes in a world of tough competition and uncertain future, trying to invest in enterprises that provide their growth. In this new scenario, ventures must create alternatives that offer greater opportunities. The incorporation of attributes of flexibility in the design of the project itself allows that risk and uncertainty be seen as strategic opportunities to be exploited. Recently, criticism has been directed at conventional techniques of capital budgeting, such as Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). The Real Options Analysis (ROA) is used for the evaluation and decision-making of investments in real assets and, in turn, investment in construction can be characterized as such, because they normally have long-term maturity, are rich in contingencies, have irreversibility in their investments, and are subject to conditions of uncertainty such as economic ones. In this research, it is proposed an exploratory through a case study where the ROA is used. It is like assuming that the approach based on ROA can complement traditional methods based on DCF, and making the opportunities contained in these types of investments more evident. The results in this paper show that the approach with ROA produce better results compared restricted analysis with methods based on FCD, in order to provide an effective management and establishment of a new enterprise culture in the civil. / Mestrado / Edificações / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Esta Dissertação de Mestrado analisa o contexto das transações e contratos para fornecimento de gás natural de consumo industrial, e verifica os principais determinantes teóricos do valor da flexibilidade contratual, quanto ao compromisso de pagamento por quantidades mínimas contratadas, ou cláusulas take-or-pay. Para o desenvolvimento da Indústria de Gás Natural brasileira, são necessários grandes investimentos em infra-estrutura, cuja realização depende da percepção de valor de longo prazo que os agentes ao longo da cadeia de fornecimento têm sobre a incerteza do mercado. Como estes agentes estabelecem a governança de suas relações, através de contratos de longo prazo, a compreensão dos determinantes de valor da flexibilidade contratual é crítica para a análise da viabilidade de uma transação comercial. Este problema é abordado através do enfoque das Teorias dos Custos de Transação e das Opções Reais. Uma amostra de 396 contratos em 6 distribuidoras de gás natural no Brasil revelou um significante poder explicativo da Teoria das Opções Reais para o valor da flexibilidade contratual, observada nas transações para fornecimento de gás natural, para consumo industrial. A evidência foi mais tênue no caso da Teoria dos Custos de Transação e fatores são propostos para explicar este fato. A pesquisa indica que a não consideração do valor flexibilidade nos contratos de gás natural tem influência negativa para o desenvolvimento deste mercado. Políticas comerciais e de regulação adequadas devem levar em consideração este aspecto. / This Dissertation analyses the context of the transactions and contracts involving the natural gas supply to industrial consumption, and verifies the main theoretical drivers of the flexibility value, in contract clauses concerning the commitment of payment for minimum contracted quantities, known as take-or-pay provisions. The development of the Brazilian Natural Gas Industry demands the deployment of heavy infra-structure, which depends upon the long-term value perception of the market uncertainty, by the contracting agents, along the supply chain. Since these agents establish the governance of their relationships through long-term contracts, the understanding of the drivers for contractual flexibility value is crucial to evaluate the feasibility of a commercial transaction. This problem is approached through the concepts of the Transaction Cost and Real Option Theories. A sample of 396 contracts from 6 natural gas distribution companies, demonstrated a remarkable explanation power of the Real Option Theory for the value of the contractual flexibility, observed in transactions for natural gas supply to industrial consumption. The evidence was weaker in the case of the Transaction Cost Theory and the reasons for this fact are proposed. This research demonstrates that if the flexibility value is not taken into account in the contracts, there should be negative influences to the market development. Adequate commercial and regulation policies should consider this aspect.

Orientador: Saul Barisnik Suslick / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica e Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T11:52:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Abreu_CarlosAlexandreCamargode_D.pdf: 1504826 bytes, checksum: 4dbdfda550735292a851456660af35c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Esse trabalho propõe dois modelos de Opções Reais para avaliação econômica de projetos em águas profundas, considerando os efeitos das incertezas em relação ao preço do petróleo e ao processo de evolução tecnológica. Esses modelos são bastante úteis nesses tipos de aplicações, pois permitem estimar o impacto do avanço tecnológico em campos com reservas de petróleo desenvolvidas, mas que apresentam grandes níveis de incertezas, pois as tecnologias atualmente conhecidas não possibilitam o desenvolvimento da produção com viabilidade econômica. Os modelos desenvolvidos foram aplicados em estudos de casos em diferentes cenários tecnológicos e projetos de campos simulados. As incertezas relacionadas ao processo de evolução tecnológica impactam no valor dos custos operacionais do projeto, considerando que os preços seguem um Movimento Geométrico Browniano, representando sua evolução ao longo do tempo. No primeiro modelo proposto a tecnologia evolui de acordo com saltos aleatórios de melhoria de eficiências, enquanto que no segundo modelo a evolução da tecnologia comporta-se de acordo com uma função logística. Foi obtida solução analítica para o caso do primeiro modelo com uma variável estocástica. No segundo modelo foi utilizada o método numérico da Simulação de Monte Carlo, com duas variáveis estocásticas, resultando na estimativa do valor da opção de espera e do momento ótimo de investimento. / Abstract: This work proposes two Real Options models for economic evaluation of E&P projects located in deep-water. The models consider the effects of uncertainties related to the oil price and the process of technological evolution. These models are useful for undeveloped reserves of heavy oil in deep-water that depict a great level of uncertainty, as the available technologies do not support the economic feasibility of the production development of such fields. The effects of technology impact on operational costs, and prices are modeled using a Geometric Brownian Motion stochastic process. The first model supposes that technology evolution is modeled with random jumps representing gains in efficiency and uses only one stochastic variable, which are obtained through an analytical solution. The second model employs a logistic utility function to model the technological evolution process and a numerical procedure (Monte Carlo Simulation) is used as a solution, using two stochastic variables. The developed models estimate the waiting option values and the optimal timing for investment for the decision process. / Doutorado / Reservatórios e Gestão / Doutor em Ciências e Engenharia de Petróleo

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-03-03T19:16:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 lucasbarbosarodrigues.pdf: 740450 bytes, checksum: 83755bf42202544e75a9d86d1594487b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-04-24T01:48:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 lucasbarbosarodrigues.pdf: 740450 bytes, checksum: 83755bf42202544e75a9d86d1594487b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-24T01:48:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 lucasbarbosarodrigues.pdf: 740450 bytes, checksum: 83755bf42202544e75a9d86d1594487b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-24 / A proposta de um modelo de avaliação de investimento de um projeto eólico baseado na metodologia de opções reais é a temática central deste estudo. A geração de energia eólica tem expandido substancialmente em todo o mundo e, na última década, a oferta deste tipo de energia cresceu em média 20% ao ano. Atualmente, essa fonte energética representa 1,69% da capacidade instalada de energia elétrica no Brasil e o prognóstico do governo prevê que essa participação aumentará para 9,5% em 2022. Justifica-se essa dissertação pelo crescimento e relevância da energia eólica para o país. O projeto eólico avaliado se refere a um parque que tenha sido desenvolvido através de um leilão A-5 do mercado ACR, a partir da venda de energia no mercado ACL nos primeiros anos. Considerou-se que o investidor tem a opção de aguardar para investir no momento que julgar mais adequado (até t=3) e a opção de abandono do parque (investidor oportunista). As incertezas que influenciam o valor do projeto são o capex e os fluxos de caixa gerados pela venda de energia no mercado ACL. Analisou-se também o efeito que ganhos de aprendizado e perda de competitividade têm sobre o valor do projeto. Os resultados indicaram que a opção de abandono gera valor para o projeto, porém, a opção de aguardar para investir no momento mais adequado não gera. Conclui-se ainda que, em diversos cenários, o projeto não seria executado, o que sinaliza a necessidade de desenvolver regras rígidas para os leilões do ACR com o intuito de evitar investidores oportunistas. / The central theme of this study is the proposal of a model for evaluating a wind power project, based on real options methodology. The production of wind power farms has expanded substantially around the world and, over the last decade, the supply of this type of energy has grown averagely 20% per year. Currently, this energy source represents 1,69% of the installed capacity of electric power in Brazil and the government´s prognosis predicts that this share will increase to 9.5% in 2021. This dissertation is justified by the growth and relevance of wind power to the country. The wind power project evaluated refers to a wind farm that has been developed through an A-5 auction of the ACR market, from the sale of energy in the ACL market during the early years. It was considered that the investor has the option to wait to invest only when the time he (she) finds most appropriated comes (up to t = 3) and the option to abandon the wind farm (opportunistic investor). The uncertainties that influence the value of the project are the capex and the cash flows generated by the sale of energy in the ACL market. The effects that learning gains and loss of competitiveness have on the value of the project were also analysed. The results indicated that the abandonment option adds value to the project; however, the option to wait to invest at the right time does not. It was also concluded that in many scenarios the project would not be executed, indicating the need to develop strict rules for ACR auctions in order to avoid opportunistic investors.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-09-12T20:15:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 taianyabreusoares.pdf: 2853882 bytes, checksum: 995c5563db2de673ae46d3577d5bc5a5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Diamantino Mayra (mayra.diamantino@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-09-13T12:32:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 taianyabreusoares.pdf: 2853882 bytes, checksum: 995c5563db2de673ae46d3577d5bc5a5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-13T12:32:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 taianyabreusoares.pdf: 2853882 bytes, checksum: 995c5563db2de673ae46d3577d5bc5a5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-07 / As principais razões para realizar uma abertura de capital são que as ofertas de ações são uma opção de financiamento mais barata para algumas empresas (dados seus atributos), a governança corporativa trazida pela estrutruta de propriedade pública minimiza os conflitos de agência, a transparência e a boa imagem da empresa (comportamento estratégico) aumentam o valor da empresa no mercado e a reestruturação societária pode gerar mais liquidez para a empresa. Entretanto, para algumas empresas de capital fechado, a questão não é se ela deve abrir ou não o capital, mas sim quando, ou seja, qual o momento mais apropriado (timing) para realizar o IPO. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo adaptar, para o caso brasileiro, o modelo de timing de IPO desenvolvido por Draho (2000), que utiliza a teoria das opções reais como metodologia para se determinar o timing ótimo da abertura de capitais. Para tanto, foram analisadas oito empresas do setor de energia (CPFL, EDP, Cosan, Brasil Ecodiesel, São Martinho, Açúcar Guarani, MPX e OGX) que, durante o período 2000-2009, realizaram a sua oferta pública primária. Como resultado, encontrou-se que todas as empresas estudadas anteciparam o timing da sua oferta e, assim, foi realizada uma análise sobre as características das ofertas públicas primárias das empresas com o objetivo de identificar potenciais determinantes de tal antecipação. Observou-se, como característica comum, a presença de capital de risco na estrutura de capital de todas as empresas e de muitos investidores otimistas (investidores externos à empresa, segundo o modelo de Bouis, 2003) interessados nos IPOs das empresas. Adicionalmente, tem-se que o período da amostra (anos de valorização da bolsa de valores brasileira, que antecederam a crise subprime deflagrada em 2008) pode ter também contribuído para tal resultado. / The main reasons addressed to warrant the opening of capital are the initial public offerings (IPO) are cheaper financing option for some companies (according to their attributes), the corporate governance brought by public-owned minimizing agency conflicts, transparency and good image of the company (strategic behavior) increases the value of their market and corporate restructuring can generate more liquidity for the company. However, for some private companies it is not a question of why go public, but rather what the most appropriate time to conduct the IPO. In this context, this study aimed to adapt to the Brazilian case, the model of the IPO timing developed by Draho (2000), which uses the real options theory as a method to determine the optimal timing for an IPO. For this, were analyzed eight Brazilian energy companies (CPFL, EDP, Cosan, Brazil Ecodiesel, St. Martin, Açúcar Guarani, MPX and OGX) that held their primary offering during the period 2000-2009. As a result, we found that all the companies studied had anticipated their timing of IPO and thus, an analysis over characteristics of primary public offerings of companies was performed with the aim of identifying the main reasons for the anticipation. It was observed as common feature the presence of venture capital in the capital structure of all companies and many optimistic investors (investors outside the company, according to the model Bouis, 2003) interested in IPOs of companies. Additionally, the sample period (year of valuation of the Brazilian stock exchange, which preceded the subprime crisis erupted in 2008) may have also contributed to this result.

Tax uncertainty is often claimed to be harmful for investments. Capital taxes, such as property and wealth taxes, are particularly exposed to tax uncertainty. Capital tax un- certainty emerges from expected tax reforms, the unclear outcome of future tax audits, and simplified estimates of capital tax bases in investment models. Uncertain returns on investment as well as stochastic taxation contribute to overall uncertainty and may significantly affect investment decisions. Hitherto, it is unknown how capital tax uncertainty affects investment timing. However, it is well known that both uncertainty and capital tax may be harmful for investment and decelerate investment activities. We are the first to study the investment timing effects of stochastic capital taxes in a real options setting with risky investment opportunities. Our results indicate that even risk neutral investors are sensitive with respect to capital tax risk and may react in a surprising manner to a newly introduced stochastic capital tax. As an apparently paradoxical investment e¤ect, we find that increased capital tax uncertainty can accelerate risky investment if such uncertainty is such ciently low compared to cash flow uncertainty. In contrast, high capital tax risk delays high-risk innovative investment projects. To reduce unintended consequences of uncertain tax policy, tax legislators and tax authorities should avoid high levels of cap- ital tax uncertainty. Broadening the capital tax base or increasing the capital tax rate induces ambiguous timing effects. Furthermore, high-growth investments are likely to be postponed if they experience a capital tax cut. Since investment reactions upon tax reforms are well-known to affect income and wealth distribution, reliable estimations of the impact of taxes on economic decisions are necessary. (authors' abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

This thesis investigates methodologies for valuing the flexibility of demand-side response (DSR) in its ability to respond to future uncertainties. The ability to quantify this flexibility is especially important for energy systems investments given their large and irreversible capital costs. The consideration of uncertainty in electricity markets and energy networks requires solutions that allow decision makers to quickly respond to unexpected events, such as extreme short-term electricity price variations in an operational setting, or incorrect long-term demand projections in planning. This uncertainty, coupled with the irreversibility of energy network investments, results in the need for viable 'wait-and-see' investment strategies that can help hedge electicity price risk in the short-term while hedging planning risk in the long-term, until at least some, if not all, uncertainty is resolved. In both cases, this leads to an added value in the case of temporary flexible investment options like DSR, which may otherwise be considered unattractive under a deterministic analysis setting. A number of significant contributions to power systems research are offered in this work, focusing on valuation methods for quantifying the flexibility value of DSR under both short-term and long-term uncertainty. The first outcome of this research is an extensive review of current real options (RO) methods that clarifies the assumptions and utilization of RO for decision-making in engineering applications. It suggests that many of the assumptions used contribute to a misuse of the models when applied to physical systems. A framework for investing under uncertainty is proposed, where the methodologies, steps, inputs, assumptions, limitations and advantages of different RO models are described so as to offer a practical guide to decision makers for selecting the most appropriate RO model for their valuation purposes. The second outcome is the design of a probabilistic RO framework and operational model for DSR that quantifies its benefits as an energy service for hedging different market price risks. A mathematical formulation for applying “real options thinking” is presented that provides decision makers with a means of quantifying the value of DSR when both operational and planning decisions are subject to uncertainty. In particular, DSR contracts can have tremendous value as an arbitrage or portfolio-balancing tool, helping hedge almost entirely electricity price risk in day-ahead and real-time markets, especially when prices are highly volatile. This value is quantified using a novel RO framework that frees the decision maker from the assumptions needed in financial option models. A new load forecasting and price simulation model is also developed to forecast load profiles and simulate new price series with different average values, higher volatilities and extreme price spikes to represent potential future market scenarios and to determine under which conditions DSR has the most value. The valuation of a DSR investment is then presented to show how the physical characteristics of a system, in this case the physical load recovery effect of loads after a DSR activation, can tremendously affect the profitability of an investment when uncertainty is taken into account. The third outcome of this work is the development of a complete, general and practical tool for making long-term multi-staged investment decisions in future power networks under multiple uncertainties. It is argued throughout this work that many of the current methods are either unsuitable for long-term investment valuation or are too complex for practical application and implementation at the industry level. A strategic spreadsheet-based tool for making long-term investment decisions under uncertainty is therefore created and tested in collaboration with industry for solving real network planning problems.

Electricity transmission network investments are playing a key role in the integration process of power systems in the European Union. Given the magnitude of investment costs, their irreversibility, and their impact in the overall development of a region, accounting for the role of uncertainties as well as the involvement of multiple parties in the decision process allows for improved and more robust investment decisions. Even though the creation of this internal energy market requires attention to flexibility and strategic decision-making, existing literature and practitioners have not given proper attention to these topics. Using portfolios of real options, we present two stochastic mixed integer linear programming models for transmission network expansion planning. We study the importance of explicitly addressing uncertainties, the option to postpone decisions and other sources of flexibility in the design of transmission networks. In a case study based on the Azores archipelago we show how renewables penetration can increase by introducing contingency planning into the decision process considering generation capacity uncertainty. We also present a two-party Nash-Coase bargaining transmission capacity investment model. We illustrate optimal fair share cost allocation policies with a case study based on the Iberian market. Lastly, we develop a new model that considers both interconnection expansion planning under uncertainty and cross-border cost allocation based on portfolios of real options and Nash-Coase bargaining. The model is illustrated using Iberian transmission and market data.

This thesis is intended to contribute to policy analysis on nuclear energy planning, and also as a contribution to applied mathematics. From point of view of nuclear policy analysis, this thesis is not designed to offer realistic detail on nuclear engineering itself, which is of second order relative to our chosen problem. The goal is to address some large scale problems in the management of the world stocks of two important nuclear fuels, Uranium (an economically finite natural resource) and Plutonium (the result at first of policies for Uranium burning, and later of policies on fast reactor breeding). This thesis assumes, as a ‘political’ working hypothesis, that at some future time world governments will agree urgently to decarbonise the world economy. Up to that point, assuming no previous large progress towards decarbonisation, basic world electricity consumption will have continued to grow at its historic average of 1.9% compound. This rate is hypothetically a combination of slower growth in the developed world and faster growth in the developing world. On this hypothesis, a necessary but not sufficient condition for decarbonising the economy would be the complete decarbonisation of future basic electricity demand, plus the provision of sufficient extra decarbonised electricity supply to take over powering all land transport. The demand for electricity for land transport at any time is assumed to equal (in line with historical experience) an increment of approximately 20% above the contemporary basic world demand for electricity. The hypothetical scenario for achieving this model of decarbonisation, without major stress to the worlds economic and social system, is to expand nuclear power to meet the whole of basic electricity demand. This would leave intermittent renewable sources to power the intermittent electricity demands of road transport.This thesis explores the above hypothetical future in various ways. We first list published forecasts of future Uranium use and future Uranium supply. These suggest that presently known Uranium reserves can meet demand for many decades. However on extrapolating the cumulative demand for Uranium that results from the above working hypothesis, we find that if a dash to decarbonise world electricity supply begins immediately, this would consume a very large multiple of presently known Uranium reserves. Sustaining that decarbonisation for only a few more decades of demand growth would consume further large multiples of the known Uranium supply. A delay in the start of the dash for decarbonisation by only a few decades greatly increases the cumulative Uranium demand needed to reach decarbonisation even briefly.Therefore the sustained achievement of decarbonisation, in a world economy of the historical type, requires such large Uranium resources that a successor fuel cycle is required. This thesis models only the case of a Uranium-based fast reactor fuel cycle, since this cycle can in principle consume all the cumulative past and future Plutonium stockpile, and can then meet its own Plutonium needs for a long period (hundreds or thousands of years), allowing ample time for economic adjustment. However a commercially effective fast reactor technology is some decades away.Up to this point, the thesis has only added two physical factors to the existing debate on Uranium needs: namely cumulative growth of electricity demand at its historic rate, and a political choice for 100% physical decarbonisation of the electricity supply.The mathematical and economic contribution of the thesis then begins. We ask the following questions:1. Under what circumstances would profit-maximising investors (or an economically rational centralized economy) actually choose to build enough reactors to decarbonise the world electricity supply?2. Would the need for investors to make a profit increase or decrease the life of the economically accessible Uranium reserves?3. What is the effect of accelerating or delaying the technical availability of fast reactors?4. When if at all would there be shortages of Uranium or Plutonium?5. Under what circumstances would rational investors chose a smooth and physically feasible handover from Uranium burning to fast reactors, thus avoiding the need for a large but temporary return to fossil fuel?The above questions set a mathematically demanding problem: four interacting physical stocks and two physical flow variables ( control variables) must simultaneously be optimized, along with their economic effects. The two control variables are the rate of building or decommissioning Uranium burners, and the rate of building or decommissioning fast reactors. The first control variable drives the cumulative stock of Uranium burning reactors, and hence the resulting maximum physical supply of electricity (with sales income bounded by demand), less the costs of operating, and of new investment. This variable also drives the cumulative depletion of the finite economically extractable reserve of Uranium, and it simultaneously drives an increase in the free Plutonium stock (from Uranium burning). The second control variable, the rate of building or decommissioning fast reactors, drives a decrease in the Plutonium stock (from charging new fast reactors) and it drives a cumulative increase in the stock of fast reactors. This affects the resulting rate of supply of electricity and of income less operating costs and new investment costs. The combined sales of electricity from the two reactor systems is bounded by the total world demand for electricity.The thesis explores this problem in several stages. A fully stochastic form of the problem (stochastic in the price of electricity) is posed using the tools of contingent claims analysis, but this proves intractable to solve, even numerically. Fortunately the price increases needed to impose decarbonisation are very large, and they result from discrete and long lasting government actions. Hence for policy analysis it is adequate to assume a large one off change in electricity price, and observe the progress towards the resulting evolving equilibrium. This problem is also addressed in stages, firstly we optimise the Uranium burning and the fast reactor cycles in isolation from each other, then we allow some purely heuristic and manually controlled interaction between them. Finally we solve, and economically optimize, the total dynamic system of two physical control variables and the resulting four interacting dependent stock variables.