core_nrelatb__yearly_projected_cost_performance

package: pudl

Annual time series of projections of costs and performance for various technologies.

Most-recent data:

2024

Processing:

Data has been cleaned and organized into well-modeled tables that serve as building blocks for downstream wide tables and analyses.

Source:

NREL Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) for Electricity

Primary key:

This table has no primary key. The fields technology_description_detail_1 and technology_description_detail_2 occasionally contain nulls, preventing this table from having a primary key.

Additional Details

This table includes NREL's projections for capital and operational costs as well as operational attributes for a variety of technologies for each of the NREL ATB scenarios. Each new year of ATB data includes projections for the next 25 years.

All of the NREL tables are related. If you want to understand the financial assumptions of a given scenario in this table, see core_nrelatb__yearly_projected_financial_cases. The other two core_nrealatb tables include attributes about technologies in these projections.

Columns
report_year

Four-digit year in which the data was reported.

model_case_nrelatb

NREL's financial assumption cases. There are two cases which effect project financial assumptions: R&D Only Case and Market + Policies Case. R&D Only includes only projected R&D improvements while Market + Policy case includes policy and tax incentives. https://atb.nrel.gov/electricity/2024/financial_cases_&_methods

model_tax_credit_case_nrelatb

NREL's tax credit assumption cases. There are two types of tax credits: production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC). For more detail, see: https://atb.nrel.gov/electricity/2024/financial_cases_&_methods

projection_year

The year of the projected value.

technology_description

High level description of the technology used by the generator to produce electricity.

cost_recovery_period_years

The period over which the initial capital investment to build a plant is recovered.

scenario_atb
technology_description_detail_1

Technology details indicate resource levels and specific technology subcategories.

technology_description_detail_2

Technology details indicate resource levels and specific technology subcategories.

capacity_factor

Fraction of potential generation that was actually reported for a plant part. Energy generated over time period / nameplate capacity * time period (hours/years/etc.).

capex_per_kw

Capital cost (USD). Expenditures required to achieve commercial operation of the generation plant.

capex_overnight_per_kw

capex if plant could be constructed overnight (i.e., excludes construction period financing); includes on-site electrical equipment (e.g., switchyard), a nominal-distance spur line (<1 mi), and necessary upgrades at a transmission substation.

capex_overnight_additional_per_kw

capex for retrofits if plant could be constructed overnight (i.e., excludes construction period financing); includes on-site electrical equipment (e.g., switchyard), a nominal-distance spur line (<1 mi), and necessary upgrades at a transmission substation.

capex_grid_connection_per_kw

Overnight capital cost includes a nominal-distance spur line (<1 mi) for all technologies, and for offshore wind, it includes export cable and construction period transit costs for a 30-km distance from shore. Project-specific costs lines that are based on distance to existing transmission are not included. This only applies to offshore wind.

capex_construction_finance_factor

Portion of all-in capital cost associated with construction period financing. This factor is applied to an overnight capital cost to represent the financing costs incurred during the construction period.

fuel_cost_per_mwh

Fuel costs in USD$/MWh. NREL-derived values using heat rates.

heat_rate_mmbtu_per_mwh

Fuel content per unit of electricity generated.

heat_rate_penalty

Heat rate penalty for retrofitting. This column only has contents to retrofit technologies. It seems to be a rate between 0.35 and 0.09

levelized_cost_of_energy_per_mwh

Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is a summary metric that combines the primary technology cost and performance parameters: capital expenditures, operations expenditures, and capacity factor.

net_output_penalty

Penalty for retrofitting for net output. This column only has contents to retrofit technologies. It seems to be a rate between -0.25 and -0.08

opex_fixed_per_kw

Fixed operation and maintenance expenses. Annual expenditures to operate and maintain equipment that are not incurred on a per-unit-energy basis.

opex_variable_per_mwh

Operation and maintenance costs incurred on a per-unit-energy basis.