• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2020

Liquid air energy storage (LAES) using gas liquefaction has attracted considerable attention because of its mature technology, high energy density, few geographical constraints, and long life span. On the other hand, LAES has not yet been commercialized and is being developed recently. Therefore, few studies have performed an economic analysis of LAES. In this study, the levelized cost of electricity was calculated and compared with that of other energy storage systems. As a result, the levelized cost of electricity of LAES was $371/MWh. This is approximately $292/MWh, $159/MWh, $118/MWh, and $3/MWh less than that of the LiCd battery, VRFB battery, Lead-acid battery, and NaS battery. In addition, the cost was approximately $62/MWh and $195/MWh more than that of Fe-Cr flow battery and PHS. Sensitivity analysis of the levelized cost of electricity according to the main economic factors was performed, and economic uncertainty analysis was performed through a Monte-Carlo simulation. The cumulative probability curve showed the levelized cost of electricity of LAES, reflecting price fluctuations in the air compressor cost, electricity cost, and standing reserve hourly fee.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.87-90
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• 2008

Levelized generation cost(LGC) has been widely used in assessing feed-in tariffs(FiT) for electricity generating from new and renewable energies. Current FiTs for renewable electricity in Korea have been fixed and applied with realistic economic data by the efforts of KERI(Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute) since October 2006. Some critical issues on the estimation of LGC are, however, found in KERI's report. Major issues are the estimation of capital cost, the consideration of corporate tax, and the application of economic life cycle in the formulae for LGC. These critical issues are examined and interpreted in a correct way in this paper.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.281-286
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• 2008

Current feed-in tariffs(FIT) of Electricity generating from new and renewable energy sources are reappraised with the corrected formula of levelized generation cost(LGC) of utility power. The LGC of new and renewable electricity should be formulated in explicitly reflecting the capital cost and corporate tax during the economic life cycle based on its realistic application data. An applicable term of the FITs should, especially, be equal to the economic life cycle. The revised FITs issued in 2006 were, however, derived from the incorrect formula described in the study of KERI(Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute), and consequently misestimated. The reappraisal values for FIT of new and renewable electricity were shown and interpreted in this paper. An FIT of PV more than 30 kW, for example, should be 972.86 won/kWh instead of current 677.38 won/kWh increasing 43.6%. An upward revision of other FITs for new and renewable electricities should also be required in the range of 8.6% to 47.3%.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.643-659
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• 2022

For the economic analysis of fuel cells, levelized cost of electricity was calculated according to the type, capacity, and annual production of the fuel cells. The cost of every component was calculated through the system component breakdown. The direct cost of the system included stack cost, component cost, assembly, test, and conditioning cost, and profit markup cost were added. The effect of capacity and annual production was analyzed by fuel cell type. Sensitivity analysis was performed according to stack life, capital cost, project period, and fuel cost. As a result, it was derived how much the economic efficiency of the fuel cell improves as the capacity increases and the annual production increases.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.67 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 2018

A considerable cost gap between three major power generation technologies, namely nuclear, coal, and combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT), has been a well-established fact in the Korean electricity market. Alternatively, this paper analyzes the levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) of the three technologies reflecting overall social costs of electricity generation including accident risk, $CO_2$ emission, and air pollution damage. The paper unveils to what extent current discriminative subsidies on fuels regarding the social costs, mostly through tax exemptions, affect economic competitiveness of the technologies. In particular, it finds relative positions of coal and CCGT could be altered depending on appreciation level of the social costs. It has limits in analyzing fixed costs of the technologies, however, due to limited data availability of nuclear power, and suggests further studies on the issue.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2020

According to the Korean Renewable Energy 3020 Implementation Plan, the installation capacity of renewable energy is expected to increase whereas technology for storing excess electricity and stabilizing the power supply of renewable energy sources is extremely required. Power-to-Gas is one of energy storage technologies where electricity is converted into gas fuel such as hydrogen and methane. Basically, Power-to-Gas system could be effectively utilized to store excess electricity generated by an imbalance between supply and demand. In this study, the economic feasibility analysis of Power-to-Gas reflecting the domestic situation was carried out. Total revenue requirement method was utilized to estimate the levelized cost of hydrogen. Validation on the economic analysis method in this study was conducted by comparison of the result, which is published by the International Energy Agency. The levelized cost of hydrogen of a 100-MW Power-to-Gas system reflecting the current economic status in Korea is 8,344 won kg^-1. The sensitivity analysis was carried out, applying the main analysis economic factors such as electricity cost, electrolyser cost, and operating year. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the conditions for economic feasibility were suggested by comparing the cost of producing hydrogen using renewable energy with the cost of producing natural gas reformed hydrogen with carbon capture and storage.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.441-447
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• 2017

The economic analysis for the power plant developed in the conceptual design phase is becoming more important and, research on process optimization for process development that meets the target economic is actively carried out. In the filed of power generation systems, economic assessment methods to predict the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) has been widely applied for comparing economic effect quantitatively. In this paper, the platform that design criteria of key component required to optimize economic of power cycle can be calculated reversely was established roughly and design criteria of the key equipment (Compressor, turbine, heat exchanger) required to meet the target LCOE (the LCOE of supercritical steam Rankine cycle) was derived when the supercritical $CO_2$ power cycle is applied to the coal-fired power plant.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2023

This study shows the summary of the economic performance of excess electricity conversion to hydrogen as well as methane and returned conversion to electricity using a fuel cell. The methane production process has been examined in a previous study. Here, this study focuses on the conversion of methane to electricity. As a part of this study, capital expenditure (CAPEX) is estimated under various sized plants (0.3, 3, 9, and 30 MW). The study shows a method for economic optimization of electricity generation using a fuel cell. The CAPEX and operating expenditure (OPEX) as well as the feed cost are used to calculate the discounted cash flow. Then the levelized cost of returned electricity (LCORE) is estimated from the discounted cash flow. This study found the LCORE value was ¢10.2/kWh electricity when a 9 MW electricity generating fuel cell was used. A methane production plant size of 1,500 Nm³/hr, a methane production cost of $11.47/mcf, a storage cost of $1/mcf, and a fuel cell efficiency of 54% were used as a baseline. A sensitivity analysis was performed by varying the storage cost, fuel cell efficiency, and excess electricity cost by ±20%, and fuel cell efficiency was found as the most dominating parameter in terms of the LCORE sensitivity. Therefore, for the best cost-performance, fuel cell manufacturing and efficiency need to be carefully evaluated. This study provides a general guideline for cost performance comparison with LCORE.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1654-1666
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• 2024

The goal of this research is to propose a way to maximize small modular reactor (SMR) utilization to gain better market feasibility in support of carbon neutrality. For that purpose, a comprehensive tool was developed, combining off-design thermohydraulic models, economic objective models (levelized cost of electricity, annual profit), non-economic models (saved CO2), a parameter input sampling method (Latin hypercube sampling, LHS), and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (Non-dominated Sorting Algorithm-2, NSGA2 method) for optimizing a SMR-combined heat and power cycle (CHP) system design. Considering multiple objectives, it was shown that NSGA2+LHS method can find better optimal solution sets with similar computational costs compared to a conventional weighted sum (WS) method. Out of multiple multi-objective optimal design configurations for a 105 MWe design generation rating, a chosen reference SMR-CHP system resulted in its levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) below $60/MWh for various heat prices, showing economic competitiveness for energy market conditions similar to South Korea. Examined economic feasibility may vary significantly based on CHP heat prices, and extensive consideration of the regional heat market may be required for SMR-CHP regional optimization. Nonetheless, with reasonable heat market prices (e.g. district heating prices comparable to those in Europe and Korea), SMR can still become highly competitive in the energy market if coupled with a CHP system.

• IE interfaces
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.237-248
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to make an economic analysis of power plant utilities by examining electricity generating costs with environmental consideration. Economic growth has caused pollutant emission, and subsequent environmental pollution has been identified as a very real limit to sustainable development. Considering the enormous role of electricity in the national economy, it is thus very important to study the effect of environmental regulations on the electricity sector. Because power utilities need large investments during construction, operation and maintenance, and also require much construction lead time. Economic analysis is the very important process in the electric system expansion planning. In this study, the levelized generation cost method is used in comparing economic analysis of power plant utilities. Among the pollutants discharged of the electricity sector, this study principally deals with the control activities related only to $CO_2$, and $NO_2$, since the control cost of $SO_2$, and TSP (Total Suspended Particulates) is already included in the construction cost of utilities. The cost of electricity generation in a coal-fired power plant is compared with one in an LNG combined cycle power plant. Moreover this study surveys the sensitivity of fuel price, interest rate and carbon tax. In each case, this sensitivity can help to decide which utility is economically justified in the circumstance of environmental regulations.