Critical review of the levelised cost of energy metric

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the ‘levelised cost of energy’ metric used in electricity project development. This metric is widely used, because it is a simple metric to calculate the cost per unit of electricity for a given technology connected to the electricity network. Howeve...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sklar-Chik, M. D., Brent, A. C., De Kock, I. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Stellenbosch University 2016-12-01
Series:South African Journal of Industrial Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://sajie.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/1496
Description
Summary:The purpose of this paper is to critically review the ‘levelised cost of energy’ metric used in electricity project development. This metric is widely used, because it is a simple metric to calculate the cost per unit of electricity for a given technology connected to the electricity network. However, it neglects certain key terms such as inflation, integration costs, and system costs. The implications of incorporating these additional costs would provide a more comprehensive metric for evaluating electricity generation projects, and for the system as a whole. It is therefore recommended to refine the metric for the South African context.
ISSN:1012-277X
2224-7890