A comprehensive review of variable renewable energy levelized cost of electricity

Abstract Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is widely used to compare the cost of different electricity generation technologies. However, with the increasing penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE), it is inappropriate to use traditional equations to calculate the LCOE for non-dispatchable VRE due to its intermittent nature. Therefore, this paper reviews LCOE for renewable generation considering aspects such as improving traditional methods for evaluating and reducing the LCOE of VRE. The existing methods for improving the accuracy of the traditional LCOE have been divided into four aspects: investment-related cost, operating-related cost, expressions for plant performance and the uncertainty and risk-related costs. The review summarizes the existing studies from academic articles and technical reports and proposes suggestions for future research studies.