COMPUTING THE COST (c/kWh) OF ELECTRICITY GENERATED AT GRID CONNECTED PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) GENERATING PLANTS

摘要

In my Solar 2000 paper, "A Quantitative Analysis of Financial Techniques for Reducing the Cost (c/kWh) of Electricity Generated at Grid Connected Photovoltaic (PV) Generating Plants", I developed an Excel worksheet to compute the levelized cost (c/kWh) of PV generated electricity. This paper first discusses the technical, financial and economic principles underlying the worksheet. The paper then analyzes the organization of the worksheet and its parameters: constants, inputs (variables) computational methods and outputs (computed values). Topics covered include: capacity-W_p, capital cost-$/W_p, PV panel size and efficiency, physical life, solar radiation, levelized cost method, interest rate, return on investment, taxes, fixed and variable operating and maintenance costs. At the end of this paper is a copy of the "Levelized Cost Worksheet for a 1 kWp PV Electric Generating Plant" for you to refer to. The benchmark values are for a model plant assumed to be located in Chicago, IL.