In this video we start with a quick tour of the key renewable electricity generation technologies, then discuss an important metric to compare cost of different technologies – the levelized cost of electricity or LCOE – in order to compare these technologies on an LCOE basis.

Key takeaways:

• Levelized cost of energy or electricity (LCOE) allows us to compare the cost of technologies on an equal basis by considering their capital cost, operational cost, and how much electricity they deliver, over their expected lifetime
• Renewables, especially PV, onshore wind, and offshore wind have come down in cost so dramatically in the past 10 years that they are as cheap and often cheaper than conventional electricity generators like coal or gas
• Technological learning is a key reason for past and possible future cost decreases as technologies and industries around them mature