What’s the real price of electricity after all the direct and indirect costs are added? The Energy Institute of the University of Texas reports on this question in a new study called The Full Cost of Electricity (FCe).
The goal was to identify and quantify every cost “from the power plant to the wall socket” so that public policy-makers have “comprehensive, rigorous and impartial analysis” to help them make decisions that affect utilities and their consumers.
One finding is that wind is the most competitive source of new generation for much of the central part of the country. Solar is the cheapest in much of the southwest, while natural gas prevailed in the eastern and northern regions of the country.
In a series of white papers, the study’s authors look beyond the expected capital, operation and fuel costs to include costs for labor, public health costs, transmission interconnections and state and federal support.
For more information or to read the study, visit https://energy.utexas.edu/policy/fce.