The Cost of Electricity

The Cost of Electricity is an essential tool for any researcher or practitioner seeking to establish the economic and environmental cost of power generation, and thereby to analyse the economic feasibility of power systems. Chapters cover capital cost, fuel cost, levelised cost, subsidies and tariffs, lifetime emission analysis, net energy analysis, traditional generation costs and renewable generation costs. The work is based on published analyses of generation costs and generation cost predictions from trusted organisations such as the US Energy Information Administration and the IEA. Chapters proceed in a logical manner through cost factors before concluding with the current and future cost of electricity generation.

• Analyses the factors that contribute to the cost of generating electricity together with the presentation of historical cost trends and predictions for future costs.
• Examines the environmental cost of power generation by lifecycle analysis, including carbon emissions impact.
• Reviews factors which distort the market cost of electricity.