25 March 2010: The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) have released the seventh edition of the Projected Costs of Generating Electricity. The report presents the relative costs of generating electricity from various fuels and technologies in 21 countries, concluding that no one technology “triumphs overall” and that specific national circumstances affect choices of generation methods.
The report also finds that key future variables for producing electricity economically will be the availability of affordable financial capital and the price of carbon. Regarding both variables, the report stresses the important role of governments in providing the framework for capital availability, risk management and environmental regulation. The report first introduces its methodology and key assumptions, then reviews technologies and countries, and finally turns to its analyses of: factors affecting price sensitivity; renewables; financing; carbon capture and storage (CCS); and a literature review. [IAE Press Release] [Report Website] [Executive Summary]