Levelized Cost Of Electricity Generation Research Articles

Economic analysis of a large scale solar updraft tower power plant

This research article provides an economic analysis of a large-scale solar updraft tower power plant (SUTPP) having 100 MW capacity and installed in Udat, Rajasthan, India, with position coordinates of 27° 35′ and 72° 43′ for meteorological conditions. A cost model developed for optimized parametric values, received from thermal and dimensional optimization of previous study, to analyse the optimized cost of electricity generation and revenue analysis with the consideration of electricity selling, carbon credits, and the levelized electricity cost. The results of the analysis suggest that the proposed plant has a higher capital and operating cost than photovoltaic and wind energy, but it also has a lower levelized cost of electricity generation. As, for a fixed power output, the optimized cost of electricity generation is inversely proportional to Rcollector and Rtower, and obtained an optimum value between ₹9.16 to ₹10.57 for power plants ranging from 100 MW to 200 MW. The results also show that the cost of construction of such a power plant largely depends on plant configuration and can lie between ₹4.5cr. to ₹12cr. per MW, which indicates that a large-scale SUTPP can be installed economically. Although the optimum values of optimized cost of electricity generation came with larger dimensional values of the power plant, that also create challenges during the construction and operation of the power plant. Based on these findings, the authors conclude that, with proper subsidies and support, a large-scale SUTPP can be considered a promising renewable energy technology for power generation.

An analysis of Turkey's solar PV auction scheme: What can Turkey learn from Brazil and South Africa?

As global investments continue in renewable energy technologies, investment costs have declined significantly. Meanwhile, many governments have shifted from pre-set renewable support schemes to auction schemes in order to introduce competition in price setting. Turkey has initiated Renewable Energy Resource Zone (RERZ) auctions to promote solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind technologies. We examine the first of these auctions, Solar PV RERZ, which has ambitious targets in terms of increasing solar PV capacity and enhancing domestic competence in solar technologies. Despite the auction being hailed as a success in terms of low prices, we utilize the Levelized Cost of Electricity generation (LCOE) analysis to demonstrate that the project is vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks and financial risks. Model results show that the capacity factor is the most prominent factor in costs, and 10% change in the capacity factor affects the LCOE about the same rate. Investment cost and interest rate are the other major factors affecting the LCOE. Based on these results, we make recommendations by discussing how Turkey can improve its auction design by incorporating some of the elements used by Brazil and South Africa.

Costs of avoided carbon emission from thermal and renewable sources of power in India and policy implications

India is the third-largest carbon emitter after the USA and China due to its over-reliance on low-efficiency coal-fired power plants. To reduce carbon emission, India has set up an ambitious target to harness power from renewable energy resources. To examine whether solar and wind are the least cost options to reduce carbon emission, the study estimates the cost of avoided carbon emission from thermal and renewable power generation in India. The study first estimates the Levelized Cost of Electricity Generation (LCOE). These LCOE estimates are then extended to calculate the avoided cost of carbon emission (CAC) from coal-based super and ultra-supercritical technologies along with solar, wind, and combined cycle gas-based power with respect to the subcritical power plant. The study also conducts sensitivity analysis and scenario building exercises. It establishes that super and ultra-supercritical power plants and not the solar or wind are the least-cost options for India to reduce its carbon emission. The study concludes with a set of important policy prescriptions.

Energy, exergy, economic and environmental (4E) analyses of a conceptual solar aided coal fired 500 MWe thermal power plant with thermal energy storage option

In this paper, a conceptual cycle has been developed by integrating a solar field consisting of parabolic trough collectors with an operating 500MWe coal fired thermal power plant for preheating the condensate/feed water. The effect of solar aided feed water heating (SAFWH) has been studied separately for each feed water heater (except LP Heater-1 and deaerator) by placing a feed water heat exchanger (FWHE) parallel to the heater under study. Energy, exergy, economic and environmental (4E) analyses have performed on this conceptual cycle in fuel saving mode by complete substitution of bleed steam with solar energy. Performance parameters (Energy and exergy efficiency, net unit heat rate, fuel savings and solar contribution) and economic parameters (Levelised cost of electricity generation (LCoE), simple payback period) and environmental parameters (annual reductions in coal consumption, CO2 and ash generation) have been calculated. The results have shown that levelised cost (cents/kWh) and simple payback period (years) for solar aided feed water heating in HPH-7 without and with thermal storage are 5.045/5.196 and 5.13/6.21 respectively. Sensitivity analysis has been carried out to find out the sensitivity of LCoE with respect to discount rate, plant capacity factor and fuel cost.

Cost Estimation and Comparison of Carbon Capture and Storage Technology with Wind Energy

The CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) is one of the significant solutions to reduce CO_2 emissions from fossil fuelled electricity generation plants and minimize the effect of global warming. Economic analysis of CCS technology is, therefore, essential for the feasibility appraisal towards CO_2 reduction. In this paper LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity Generation) has been estimated with and without CCS technology for fossil fuel based power plants of Pakistan and also further compared with computed LCOE of WE (Wind Energy) based power plants of the Pakistan. The results of this study suggest that the electricity generation costs of the fossil fuel power plants increase more than 44% with CCS technology as compared to without CCS technology. The generation costs are also found to be 10% further on higher side when considering efficiency penalty owing to installation of CCS technology. In addition, the CO_2 avoided costs from natural gas plant are found to be 40 and 10% higher than the local coal and imported coal plants respectively. As such, the electricity generation cost of 5.09 Rs/kWh from WE plants is found to be competitive even when fossil fuel based plants are without CCS technology, with lowest cost of 5.9 Rs./kWh of CCNG (Combined Cycle Natural Gas) plant. Based on analysis of results of this study and anticipated future development of efficient and cheap WE technologies, it is concluded that WE based electricity generation would be most appropriate option for CO_2 reduction for Pakistan.

Design and optimisation of linear Fresnel power plants based on the direct molten salt concept

Abstract Thermal energy storage (TES) is an exclusive feature of solar thermal electric (STE) plants, allowing for solar energy to be efficiently stored and dispatched to the grid at a chosen point in time, thus providing an enhanced operation flexibility while potentially reducing the levelised cost of electricity generation (LCoE). The direct molten salt (DMS) concept, where a liquid nitrate/nitrite salt mixture is used both as heat transfer fluid in the solar field and as sensible heat storage medium in the TES represents currently the most promising technological option, in terms of LCoE optimisation and technology maturity, for STE plant with thermal energy storage. Here, different DMS plant configurations based on the linear Fresnel solar collector technology are investigated targeting to define optimal designs with regards to the LCoE. For this purpose, a simulation tool has been developed capable of describing the dynamic plant behaviour by means of best estimate methods to determine the annual yield and operational availability of linear focusing DMS STE plant, together with estimating the investment and annual operation costs of such plants. Simulations results from this tool have been validated against a well established thermo-hydraulic simulation tool (TRACE). The study concentrated on the following aspects: 1. Identification of optimal operational parameters of a STE plant with TES coupled to a power cycle 2. Economical evaluation of the chosen plant concepts and definition of optimal plant configurations 3. Investigation of LCoE reduction perspectives by means of higher operation temperatures These analyses exhibit for the given plant setup an optimum choosing a sub-critical reheat power cycle at 540 °C/165 bar and the so-called “Hitec” molten salt mixture as heat transfer fluid (HTF). However supercritical power cycles in a DMS STE plants are not considered and may bring further LCoE reductions. Additionally, in terms of LCoE, the study reveals an optimal plant capacity in the range of 100 MW el to 150 MW el . Finally, the study shows that a further increase in the temperature of both power cycle and solar field beyond the previously named optimal values leads to increased LCoE.

A Typical Solar-coal Hybrid Power Plant in China

This paper proposes a 330 MW coal-fired power plant hybridized with solar heat, which will be demonstrated in Sinkiang province of China. In this solar hybrid plant, solar heat at around 300°C is used to replace the steam extracted from the high- pressure turbine, to pre-heat the feed water before the economizer of the boiler. In this way, the replaced high-temperture and pressure steam can be further expanded in the turbine, boosting output work of the coal-fired power plant. At the same time, compared to present solar-only thermal power technology, the solar heat at around 300°C here can be converted into electricity by the aid of larger capacity units of the coal-fired plant with higher turbine internal efficiency. Furthermore, this kind of solar hybrid power plant can be operated at a fully rated output during periods of low solar radiation such as the evening and overcast days without storage device. As a result, the annual net solar-to-electric efficiency could reach up to 21%, with the improvement of nearly 3 percentage points, compared to the state-of-the art parabolic trough plants, such as SEGSs. And the levelized cost of electricity generation (LCOE) could be reduced to 0.8-1.0▪/kWh, about 20-30% lower than that of the solar-only thermal power plant (1.1-1.3▪/kWh). This kind of solar-coal hybrid power plant would offer a promissing approach to the cost-effective and scalable utilization of mid-temperature solar heat in the near and mid term.