Microsoft Word - Appendix A Key Assumptions for Levelized Costs Final.doc

The document provides the technical and financial basis for LCOE ranges for electricity generation technologies. It specifies that all technologies are assumed to be online in 2015, with costs expressed in real 2010 dollars over a 20-year recovery period. The analysis incorporates overnight capital costs, fixed charge rates, O&M costs, and fuel price assumptions, while accounting for federal tax credits, loan guarantees for nuclear power, and future carbon prices.

• The analysis uses a standardized financial framework where all technologies are assumed to be brought online in 2015, with costs expressed in real 2010 dollars and levelized over a 20-year cost recovery period.
• To reflect the financial risks associated with carbon-intensive investments, the analysis applies a 3 percent higher cost of capital to greenhouse-gas-intensive projects, such as coal-fired power plants that lack carbon capture and storage.
• Fuel cost assumptions vary by technology: biomass is estimated between $30 and $65 per dry ton; coal prices are based on EIA AEO 2010 high and low side cases; and natural gas ranges are derived from NYMEX futures prices and EIA AEO 2011 forecasts using a 20 percent confidence interval.
• The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) with incentives and CO2 costs varies significantly across technologies; for example, Natural Gas CC ranges from $59 to $118/MWh, while Nuclear ranges from $91 to $167/MWh and Onshore Wind ranges from $36 to $104/MWh.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (n.d.). Microsoft Word - Appendix A Key Assumptions for Levelized Costs Final.doc. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Appendix-Key-Assumptions-Levelized-Costs.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Microsoft Word - Appendix A Key Assumptions for Levelized Costs Final.doc. n.d. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Appendix-Key-Assumptions-Levelized-Costs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Microsoft Word - Appendix A Key Assumptions for Levelized Costs Final.doc |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Appendix-Key-Assumptions-Levelized-Costs.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientistsndmicrosoft, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Microsoft Word - Appendix A Key Assumptions for Levelized Costs Final.doc}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Appendix-Key-Assumptions-Levelized-Costs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }