Why Solar? Simple. Levelized Cost of Energy

Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is a means of comparing overall competitiveness of different generating technologies, regardless of a project’s scale or operating time frame. LCOE is a calculation that includes capital investment, fuel costs, operation and maintenance expenses, financing costs and applicable incentives; representing the cost of building and operating a system over an assumed lifecycle. For renewable technologies such as solar photovoltaics, modelling energy production and generating lifecycle energy prediction reports is easily accomplished. Thus, establishing a cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) that is easily comparable to a utility’s kWh charge.

Solar photovoltaics have NO fuel costs and very little O&M costs unlike other generating systems such as coal-fired plants, nuclear power plants, and combined cycle natural gas plants that come with considerable fuel and operating costs.