The Future Cost of Power Generation- Market Research Report.

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The Future Cost of Power Generation.
One-Stop Shop for Business Information
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Summary
Chapter 1 Electricity and fuel cost trends the
signature of the past and signs for the
future. The power generation and supply
industries are facing unparalleled changes as
renewable generating technologies are promoted to
reduce atmospheric carbon emissions, challenging
the dominance of fossil fuel based technologies
in the process. Grid operation is beginning to
change to accommodate these new resources and the
structure of grid systems is beginning to
fragment as distributed generation grows.
Meanwhile a revolution in oil and gas production
in the USA is having ramifications for gas and
coal costs that has already spread to other
regions. Even so, fossil fuel generation,
primarily based on coal, still dominates global
generation. However this is much more pronounced
in the developing world than in the developed
where renewable generation is growing faster than
other types. The Asia-Pacific region now has the
largest global electricity production, followed
by Europe and then North America.
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Chapter 2 The capital cost of power generation
technologies. The capital cost of a power plant
is, along with the cost of fuel, one of the key
determinants of the cost of electricity. Capital
cost trends are therefore one of the most
important indicators of the changing balance
between different technologies. For renewable
technologies the capital cost is the main cost
determinant since there is no fuel cost.
Renewable plants generally have lower capacity
factors than conventional and nuclear plants and
this must also be taken into account when
assessing overall economic performance. The
cheapest type of power plant from a capital cost
perspective is a gas turbine based station. The
gas turbine is a globally traded commodity and
price competition is fierce. Best of all is a
combined cycle plant which is both cheap and
highly efficient. A typical pulverised coal fired
plant will cost almost twice as much as the
combined cycle plant.
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• Chapter 3 The future cost of electricity the
  levelized cost of power from conventional,
  nuclear and renewable technologies
• In order to identify the best technology for a
  given power development, one of the key
  determining factors will be the cost of
  electricity from the plant. To determine the
  future cost of power an economic model called the
  levelized cost of electricity model is used. When
  this modelling is carried out the cheapest source
  of power in the USA is a combined cycle power
  plant burning natural gas. However elsewhere
  nuclear and even coal-fired generation can
  theoretically be more cost effective. Of the main
  renewable technologies, hydropower can be cost
  effective in many parts of the world although
  opportunities in the developed world are scarce.
  Wind and solar generation are becoming
  increasingly competitive too and may already have
  reached parity in some situations. Adding carbon
  capture and storage to a fossil fuel power plant
  can push the cost of electricity from such
  facilities.

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• Chapter 4 Global electricity generating capacity
  and the cost of power technology growth trends
  and prospects
• The production of electricity will double,
  globally over the next thirty years. Much of this
  growth will take place in the developing world
  but there will be some increase in capacity
  within the developed world too. Trends differ
  between the two groups however with fossil fuel
  production continuing to grow in the developing
  world while across the developed world there is a
  more pronounced shift towards renewable
  generation. In both regions, however, natural gas
  will become increasingly popular for power
  generation too and this could accelerate if oil
  and gas from shale deposits is exploited in
  regions other than the USA. Meanwhile most of the
  growth in coal-based generation will be found in
  China and India. How fast renewable generation
  will increase depends on a range of factors and
  predictions differ from a doubling of capacity by
  2030 to an increase of more than ten times.

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Table Of Content

• About the author .
• Disclaimer
• Note about authors and sources.
• Table of contents .
• Table of tables.
• Table of figures .
• Executive summary.
• Chapter 1 Electricity and fuel cost trends the
  signature of the past and signs for the future.
• Chapter 2 The capital cost of electricity
  generating technologies .
• Chapter 3 The future cost of electricity the
  levelized cost of power .
• Chapter 4 Global electricity generating capacity
  and the cost of power.

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• The Future Cost of Power Generation.

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