Projected Costs of Generating Electricity - OECD Nuclear Energy ...

exchange rates, the coal prices vary by a factor of twenty between the Republic of South Africa, where
the prices are the lowest at 0.1/0.15 USD/GJ, and more than 2 USD/GJ in many European countries and
in Japan. Roughly half of the responses indicate price escalation during the economic lifetime of the plant
while the other half indicates price stability. When prices are assumed to increase, escalation rates lead to
an average increase of some 50% between 2010 and the end of the plant economic lifetime, i.e. 2050.
Levelised generation costs
The levelised costs of electricity generated by the coal-fired plants considered in the study are shown
in Figures 3.2 and 3.3 at 5% and 10% discount rates respectively. The detailed cost elements, i.e. total
investment (including refurbishment, decommissioning and interest during construction), O&M and fuel,
and their respective shares of the total levelised generation cost are provided in Tables 3.13 and 3.14 which
include all the cost estimates for coal-fired, gas-fired and nuclear power plants considered in the study.
USD/MWh
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Figure 3.2 – Levelised costs of coal generated electricity
at 5% discount rate (USD/MWh)
Fuel
O&M
Investment
50
40
30
20
10
0
CAN-C
USA-C1
USA-C2
CZE-C1
CZE-C2
CZE-C3
CZE-C4
DNK-C
FIN-C
FRA-C1
FRA-C2
DEU-C1
DEU-C2
DEU-C3
DEU-C4
SVK-C1
SVK-C2
TUR-C1
TUR-C2
TUR-C3
JPN-C
KOR-C1
KOR-C2
BGR-C
ROU-C
ZAF-C1
ZAF-C2
At 5% discount rate, levelised generation costs range between 25 and 50 USD/MWh for most coalfired
power plants. The only exceptions on the cheap side – just above or even below 20 USD/MWh – are
the South African plants, the country having reported extremely low coal prices. On the other hand,
the estimated levelised generation cost of the lignite-fuelled plant in the Slovak Republic is above
50 USD/MWh owing to the high lignite price reported. Generally, investment costs represent slightly more
than a third of the total, while O&M costs account for some 20% and fuel for some 45%. It should be
stressed, however, that those shares may vary widely from country to country depending on local conditions
and in particular assumed coal prices. For example, in the Republic of South Africa where assumed coal
prices are extremely low, investment costs represent three quarters or more of the total levelised costs.
At 10% discount rate, the levelised generation costs of nearly all coal-fired power plants range between
35 and 60 USD/MWh. Only the lignite-fuelled plant in the Slovak Republic and the plant of Japan have
levelised costs higher than 60 USD/MWh while the two plants of the Republic of Korea and the two
plants of the Republic of South Africa have levelised costs lower than 30 USD/MWh. Investment costs
represent around 50% in most cases with the exception of the Republic of South Africa where the low fuel
costs lead to an investment share exceeding 85%. O&M costs account for some 15% of the total and fuel
costs for some 35%. Like at 5% discount rate, the variability of cost elements leads to significant differences
in their respective shares of the total in different countries and sometimes for different plants in the
same country.
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