TECHNICAL TERMS

This page explains some of the technical terms used in connection with CSP and electricity transmission.

Levelised cost (of electricity)

A simple explanation of this term is provided by the California Energy Commission that says:

The levelized costs can be interpreted as a constant level of revenue necessary each year to recover all the expenses over the life of a power plant.

Levelized cost of any power plant is a function of all the fixed and varying annual costs (capital , O&M, and fuel.).

The American Wind Energy Association says:

Levelized costing calculates in current dollars all capital, fuel, and operating and maintenance costs associated with the [generating] plant over its lifetime and divides that total cost by the estimated output in kWh over the lifetime of the plant.

A more technical definition is given in this page about The NPV and Levelized Cost concepts.

Net present value (of electricity)

A technical definition of this term is given in this page about The NPV and Levelized Cost concepts.