Issue 9, 2011

Assumptions and the levelized cost of energy for photovoltaics

Abstract

Photovoltaic electricity is a rapidly growing renewable energy source and will ultimately assume a major role in global energy production. The cost of solar-generated electricity is typically compared to electricity produced by traditional sources with a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) calculation. Generally, LCOE is treated as a definite number and the assumptions lying beneath that result are rarely reported or even understood. Here we shed light on some of the key assumptions and offer a new approach to calculating LCOE for photovoltaics based on input parameter distributions feeding a Monte Carlo simulation. In this framework, the influence of assumptions and confidence intervals becomes clear.

Graphical abstract: Assumptions and the levelized cost of energy for photovoltaics

Article information

Article type
Analysis
Submitted
22 Nov 2010
Accepted
06 Jan 2011
First published
04 Feb 2011

Energy Environ. Sci., 2011,4, 3133-3139

Assumptions and the levelized cost of energy for photovoltaics

S. B. Darling, F. You, T. Veselka and A. Velosa, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 3133 DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00698J

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