The Biggest Lie About Renewable Energy
The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) is a metric used to compare the cost of generating electricity from different sources over the lifetime of a power plant. It represents the per-unit cost of building and operating a generating plant over an assumed financial life and duty cycle, converted to equal payments and a standardized unit of energy. Keep in mind that LCOE values can vary depending on factors such as location, technology advancements, fuel prices, government incentives, and more. Here are approximate LCOE ranges for various energy technologies as of my last update in September 2021:
1. Conventional Uranium (Nuclear): 5 - 15 cents per kWh
2. Thorium (Theoretical): The LCOE for thorium-based reactors isn't well-established due to the experimental nature of the technology.
3. Wind (Onshore): 3 - 10 cents per kWh
4. Wind (Offshore): 8 - 15 cents per kWh (higher due to higher installation and maintenance costs)
5. Solar (Photovoltaic - Utility-Scale): 2 - 5 cents per kWh
6. Solar (Photovoltaic - Residential): 10 - 20 cents per kWh
7. Oil: Highly variable and dependent on oil prices; generally higher than other renewable sources.
8. Hydro: 2 - 10 cents per kWh (highly dependent on factors like location, size, and infrastructure)
9. Energy Storage (Hydrogen): 10 - 25+ cents per kWh (dependent on production methods and storage technologies)
10. Energy Storage (Batteries): 10 - 30+ cents per kWh (dependent on battery chemistry and storage duration)
11. Natural Gas Combined Cycle: 4 - 7 cents per kWh
12. Coal: 5 - 15 cents per kWh (highly dependent on coal prices and emissions controls)
13. Geothermal: 4 - 10 cents per kWh (depends on resource availability)
14. Wave and Tidal: 15 - 40 cents per kWh (higher due to emerging technology and high infrastructure costs)
15. Nuclear Fusion (Theoretical): The LCOE for nuclear fusion isn't established due to the experimental nature of the technology.