Generation
The Full Cost of Electricity study seeks to quantify the costs associated with different generation technologies, and how those costs interact with the cost of electric delivery, consumption, and to determine the total direct and indirect costs of electricity.
Electricity generation converts primary energy sources such as fossil fuels, wind, or sunlight into electric energy. Historically, and still today, most electricity is generated in thermal power plants, which convert heat from the combustion of fossil fuels or the reaction of nuclear materials into electric energy. Also, a significant portion of electricity is generated using hydroelectric dams, which channel stored water through hydropower turbines. However in recent years, new generation technologies of wind turbines, solar panels, and combustion turbines are a significant proportion of new power plant installations – challenging the historical structure of the electric industry.
Related Energy Institute Publications
Capacity Expansion and Dispatch Modeling: Model Documentation and Results for ERCOT Scenarios
EPA’s Valuation of Environmental Externalities from Electricity Production
Estimation of Transmission Costs for New Generation
Federal Financial Support for Electricity Generation Technologies
Future Utility Business Models
The History and Evolution of the U.S. Electricity Industry
Impact of renewable generation on operational reserves requirements: When more could be less
Integrating Photovoltaic Generation: Cost of Integrating Distributed Photovoltaic Generation to the Utility Distribution Circuits
Market-calibrated Forecasts for Natural Gas Prices
New U.S. Power Costs: by County, with Environmental Externalities
Download a PDF of the full white paper.
Read a related blog post at IEEE Spectrum
Journal Publication:
Rhodes, Joshua D., King, Carey, Gülen, Gürcan, Olmstead, Sheila M., Dyer, James S., Hebner, Robert E., Beach, Fred C., Edgar, Thomas F., Webber, Michael E.. “A geographically resolved method to estimate levelized power plant costs with environmental externalities,” Energy Policy, 2017, 102 (March 2017), 491-499, doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.025. View paper free online here or download PDF.
Quantifying Diversity of Electricity Generation in the U.S.
