Benchmark electricity price for solar thermal power generation

What is NREL's solar-plus-storage cost benchmarking work?

This work has grown to include cost models for solar-plus-storage systems. NREL's PV cost benchmarking work uses a bottom-up approach. First, analysts create a set of steps required for system installation.

What is solar energy cost analysis?

Solar energy cost analysis examines hardware and non-hardware (soft) manufacturing and installation costs, including the effect of policy and market impacts. Solar energy data analysis examines a wide range of issues such as solar adoption trends and the performance and reliability of solar energy generation facilities.

How much does solar O&M cost?

Regulated utilities report solar O&M costs for plants that they own, representing a mix of technologies and at least one full operational year. Median O&M costs for the cumulative sample have declined from about $41/kWAC-year or $21/MWh in 2011 to about $11/kWAC-year or $6/MWh in 2022.

What is the least cost option for solar power?

Nevertheless, in terms of the LCOE of the median plant, onshore wind and utility scale solar PV are, assuming emission costs of USD 30/tCO 2, the least cost options. Natural gas CCGTs are followed by offshore wind, nuclear new build and, finally, coal.

Why is cost favorability important for wind and solar PV?

For wind and solar PV, in particular, the cost favorability of the lowest-cost regions compound the underlying variability in regional cost and create a significant differential between the unadjusted costs and the capacity-weighted average national costs as observed from recent market experience.

How much is solar energy worth?

Solar’s energy and capacity value varies from one wholesale market to another: It is low in CAISO at $34/MWh, but high in ERCOT ($78/MWh), SPP ($71/MWh) and PSCO ($66/MWh). But value also varies within regions, driven by transmission congestion, solar resource quality or differing use of technology like trackers.