References

Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE): Definition, Comparison, and Misuse

LCOE and System Cost References

• International Energy Agency. (2024). World Energy Outlook 2024. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024
• Lazard. (2024). Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis—Version 17.0. https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/2024-levelized-cost-of-energy-analysis/
• U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2024). Levelized costs of new generation resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2024. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/electricity_generation.php
• Bistline, J. E., & Blanford, G. J. (2023). Value of technologies in long-run decarbonization of the U.S. electricity sector. Joule, 7(4), 843-865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.02.014
• Jenkins, J. D., Luke, M., & Thernstrom, S. (2018). The benefits of nuclear flexibility in power system operations with renewable energy. Applied Energy, 222, 872-884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.002
• Hirth, L. (2013). The market value of variable renewables: The effect of solar and wind power variability on their relative price. Energy Economics, 38, 218-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.02.004

Dispatchability and Storage: Capacity Value vs. Energy Value

Dispatchability, Capacity Value, and Storage in Grid Reliability

• U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2024). Electricity explained: Capacity factors for utility scale generators. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_6_07_b
• International Energy Agency. (2024). World Energy Outlook 2024. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024
• Lazard. (2024). Levelized Cost of Storage Analysis—Version 9.0. https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/2024-levelized-cost-of-storage-analysis/
• Milligan, M., Ela, E., Hodge, B.-M., Kirby, B., Lew, D., Clark, C., DeCesaro, J., Lynn, K., & O’Malley, M. (2011). Capacity value of wind power. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 26(2), 564-572. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRS.2010.2062543
• Denholm, P., Mai, T., Kenyon, R., & Kroposki, B. (2021). The challenge of achieving 100% renewable electricity in the United States. Joule, 5(6), 1331-1350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2021.04.011
• Hirth, L., Ueckerdt, F., & Edenhofer, O. (2015). Integration costs revisited – An economic framework for wind and solar in power systems. Renewable Energy, 74, 925-939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2014.08.065

Upfront Capital Expenditure (CapEx)

Overnight Capital Expenditure, Grid Investment, and System Cost Drivers

• U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2024). Capital cost and performance characteristics of new power plants. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/assumptions/pdf/capital_cost.pdf
• International Energy Agency. (2024). World Energy Investment 2024. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2024
• Lazard. (2024). Levelized cost of energy and levelized cost of storage 2024. https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/2024-levelized-cost-of-energy-levelized-cost-of-storage/
• Electric Power Research Institute. (2023). U.S. Power sector outlook: Grid modernization and investment trends. https://www.epri.com/research/products/000000003002025849
• BloombergNEF. (2024). Data center energy demand and grid investment outlook. https://about.bnef.com/blog/data-centers-and-grid-demand-2024/
• North American Electric Reliability Corporation. (2024). Long-term reliability assessment 2024. https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/2024LTRA.pdf

Energy Density and Land Use

Energy Density, Land Use, and Environmental Impacts of Power Generation

• Smil, V. (2015). Power density: A key to understanding energy sources and uses. MIT Press.
• International Energy Agency. (2023). Renewables 2023: Analysis and forecast to 2028. https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2023
• U.S. Department of Energy. (2021). Land use requirements for utility-scale PV: An empirical update on power density and land transformation. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79209.pdf
• Denholm, P., & Hand, M. (2011). Land-use requirements of modern wind power plants in the United States. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/45834.pdf
• Fthenakis, V., & Kim, H. C. (2009). Land use and electricity generation: A life-cycle analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13(6-7), 1465-1474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2008.09.017
• U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2024). Electric power annual 2023. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/

CO₂ Intensity and Lifecycle Emissions

Lifecycle Emissions and Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Power Technologies

• Pehl, M., Arvesen, A., Humpenöder, F., Popp, A., Hertwich, E. G., & Luderer, G. (2017). Understanding future emissions from low-carbon power systems by integration of life-cycle assessment and integrated energy modelling. Nature Energy, 2, 939-945. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-017-0032-9
• NREL. (2021). Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation: Update. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/80580.pdf
• Sovacool, B. K. (2008). Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power: A critical survey. Energy Policy, 36(8), 2940-2953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.04.017
• Hertwich, E. G., et al. (2015). Integrated life-cycle assessment of electricity-supply scenarios confirms global environmental benefit of low-carbon technologies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(20), 6277-6282. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1312753111
• Alvarez, R. A., Pacala, S. W., Winebrake, J. J., Chameides, W. L., & Hamburg, S. P. (2012). Greater focus needed on methane leakage from natural gas infrastructure. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(17), 6435-6440. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1202407109
• International Energy Agency. (2023). Global methane tracker 2023. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2023
• Smith, P., et al. (2014). Agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU). In Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change (pp. 811-922). IPCC. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/

Lifecycle Cost: The True Price of Energy with Storage and Integration

System-Level Cost and Integration of Renewable Energy

• Jenkins, J. D., Luke, M., & Thernstrom, S. (2018). Getting to zero carbon emissions in the electric power sector. Joule, 2(12), 2498-2510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.11.013
• Sepulveda, N. A., Jenkins, J. D., de Sisternes, F. J., & Lester, R. K. (2018). The role of firm low-carbon electricity resources in deep decarbonization of power generation. Joule, 2(11), 2403-2420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.08.006
• Denholm, P., & Mai, T. (2019). Timescales of energy storage needed for reducing renewable energy curtailment. Renewable Energy, 130, 388-399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.06.079
• U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2024). Levelized costs of new generation resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2024. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/electricity_generation.pdf
• International Energy Agency. (2023). World energy outlook 2023. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023
• California Independent System Operator. (2024). 2023 Annual report on market issues and performance. http://www.caiso.com/Documents/2023-Annual-Report-Market-Issues-Performance.pdf
• Bundesnetzagentur. (2024). Monitoring report 2023: Electricity and gas supply in Germany. https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/EN/Areas/ElectricityGas/Monitoring/Monitoring-report-node.html
• ERCOT. (2022). Review of February 2021 extreme cold weather event. Electric Reliability Council of Texas. https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2022/03/18/Review_of_February_2021_Extreme_Cold_Weather_Event.pdf