Minimizing utility-scale PV power plant LCOE through the use of high capacity factor configurations

Abstract

PV power plants have emerged in recent years as a viable means of large-scale renewable energy power generation. A critical question facing these PV plants at the utility-scale is the competitiveness of their energy generation cost with that of other sources. A common means of comparing the relative cost of electricity from a generating source is through a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) calculation. The LCOE equation allows alternative technologies to be compared when different scales of operation, investment or operating time periods exist. This paper reviews the LCOE drivers for a PV power plant and the impact of a plant's capacity factor on the system LCOE. The impact of solar tracking to a plant's capacity factor is reviewed as well as well as the economic tradeoffs between fixed and tracking systems.