Science Unit 6 Lesson 7 Flashcards
Regardless of the type of energy, there are two main categories of costs; what are they?
capital costs and operating costs
What are capital costs?
Capital costs are fixed costs and include things like infrastructure, land, buildings, and equipment.
What are operating costs?
Operating costs are costs that vary over time and include the cost of fuel, labor, and maintenance.
What do operating costs of renewable energy sources look like?
For renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal, the fuel is mostly free. Labor and maintenance costs comprise the bulk of the operating costs.
What do capital costs for renewable power-generating systems look like? What is it like comapred to coal and natural gas plants?
capital costs for renewable power-generating systems and facilities tend to be much greater than for coal and natural gas plants. Capital costs can include equipment such as solar panels and wind turbines.
How are operating costs for coal and narural gas plants?
While capital costs are lower for fossil fuel plants, the fuel cost tends to dominate the total cost of operations and is highly dependent on the fluctuating cost of fuel. As a result, operating costs are generally higher for coal and natural gas plants.
Economists often use a measure known as what to compare different methods of energy generation?
the levelized cost of energy (LCOE)
What is the LOCE?
The LCOE is the average total cost to build and operate a power-generating asset over its lifetime, also called the total cost of ownership, divided by the total energy output of that asset over its lifetime.
This metric provides the price of energy per unit or per kWh (kilowatt hour). It is the minimum price at which the electricity must be sold in order to break even over the lifetime of the project.
LCOE of different resources.
- wind: $0.032/kWh to $0.077/kWh
- solar photovoltaic (thin film utility scale): $0.050/kWh to $0.050/kWh
- solar photovoltaic (rooftop residential): $0.184/kWh to $0.300/kWh
- geothermal: $0.082/kWh to $0.117/kWh
- biomass direct: $0.082/kWh to $0.110/kWh
- natural gas (combined cycle): $0.052/kWh to $0.078/kWh
- coal: $0.065/kWh to $0.150/kWh
To do a simple LCOE calculation, the total cost of ownership of the energy project is divided by its lifetime production of energy. In equation form, the LCOE is calculated as follows:
LCOE=(capital costs)+(average yearly operating costs)×(number of project years)/(total production)
Note that the capital costs and average yearly operating costs are in dollars and the total production is in kWh. This means that the LCOE is in units of dollars per kWh
The LCOE considers all power-generating system costs. However, it has one downside when it comes to wind and solar power, what it is?
However, it does not necessarily include the cost of delivering wind and solar power into the grid system that transmits electricity from the power system or facility to the end user. Two technical challenges faced by the grid in regard to renewable energy are the location and variability of renewable energy generation. Renewable energy resources are usually located far from urban cities, although increasing numbers of solar panels are being installed in some cities. Additionally, the unpredictability of weather can affect wind and sunlight conditions, creating variation in the amount of energy generated.
Jon challenges in the renewable energy industires
Perhaps the greatest challenge is keeping up with the hiring growth of renewable energy industries. The number of jobs related to wind energy increased by 32% in 2016, while jobs related to solar energy increased by 25% that same year.
Benfits of solar energy and wind energy?
- Solar energy has the advantage of being collectible even in densely populated urban environments, where solar panels can be positioned on rooftops. Solar panels added to a single residence can add value to the home.
- Wind energy, unlike solar energy, can be collected day or night. Wind turbines can be installed in agricultural areas without disruption to crops or livestock.
- Solar and wind energy require essentially no water in their operations and therefore do not contribute to water pollution.
