What are levelised costs for electricity generation technologies?

This report presents levelised costs for electricity generation technologies. A ‘levelised cost’ is the average cost of the lifetime of the plant per MWh of electricity generated. They reflect the cost of building, operating and decommissioning a generic plant for each technology.

Are 'projected costs of generating electricity' falling?

The key insight of the 2020 edition of Projected Costs of Generating Electricity is that the levelised costs of electricity generation of low-carbon generation technologies are falling and are increasingly below the costs of conventional fossil fuel generation.

Are solar PV projects reducing the cost of electricity in 2022?

Between 2022 and 2023, utility-scale solar PV projects showed the most significant decrease (by 12%). For newly commissioned onshore wind projects, the global weighted average LCOE fell by 3% year-on-year; whilst for offshore wind, the cost of electricity of new projects decreased by 7% compared to 2022.

How much does offshore wind cost in 2022?

For offshore wind, the cost of electricity of new projects increased by 2%, in comparison to 2021, rising from USD 0.079/kWh to USD 0.081/kWh in 2022.

How do you calculate the cost of a wind plant?

To estimate the cost per unit generated we divide fixed costs by the plant’s total output during a period - this can be calculated from its capacity factor (actual electricity output as a percentage of maximum theoretical output). The capacity factor of a wind plant depends primarily on wind quality.

How much does Wind O&M cost?

The reported figure is arrived at by assuming a capacity factor, but often one has no way of knowing what was assumed. This is a global issue: wind O&M cost estimates for different countries in EGC15 show huge disparities - considering only advanced countries in the EU, estimates range from $14/MWh in Denmark to $36 in the UK.