Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- About This Book
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Global Warming and Climate Change
- 2 Solar Power and Sustainable Energy Technologies and Their Impact on Global Economy
- 3 Overview of Solar Power System Technology
- 4 Solar Power System Economics
- 5 Long-Term Project Financing and Power Purchase Agreements
- 6 Solar Power Rebates, Financing, and Feed-In Tariffs Programs
- 7 Importance of Solar Power System Peak Power Performance and Solar Power System Hazard Mitigation
- 8 Solar Power System Econometric and Analytical Software Solution
- 9 Economics of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration and Carbon Trading
- 10 The Smart Grid Systems Deployment and Economics
- 11 Environmental Design Considerations
- 12 Energy Storage Systems
- Appendix A Unit Conversion and Design Reference Tables
- Appendix B Energy Systems
- Appendix C Glossary of Solar Energy Power Terms
- Appendix D California Solar Initiative – PV Incentives
- Index
4 - Solar Power System Economics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- About This Book
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Global Warming and Climate Change
- 2 Solar Power and Sustainable Energy Technologies and Their Impact on Global Economy
- 3 Overview of Solar Power System Technology
- 4 Solar Power System Economics
- 5 Long-Term Project Financing and Power Purchase Agreements
- 6 Solar Power Rebates, Financing, and Feed-In Tariffs Programs
- 7 Importance of Solar Power System Peak Power Performance and Solar Power System Hazard Mitigation
- 8 Solar Power System Econometric and Analytical Software Solution
- 9 Economics of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration and Carbon Trading
- 10 The Smart Grid Systems Deployment and Economics
- 11 Environmental Design Considerations
- 12 Energy Storage Systems
- Appendix A Unit Conversion and Design Reference Tables
- Appendix B Energy Systems
- Appendix C Glossary of Solar Energy Power Terms
- Appendix D California Solar Initiative – PV Incentives
- Index
Summary
Electrical Energy Use and Tariffs
When using electrical energy, whether for residential, commercial or industrial clients, we enter into a contractual agreement to pay a certain price for consuming a unit of electrical energy, called 1 kilowatt hour. For example, 1 kilowatt hour of electrical energy can be considered the energy used by a commercial toaster or a coffee brewer of 1 kilowatt for 1 hour or the energy used to light 10 100-watt lamp bulbs for 1 hour.
Unit cost of energy is contingent upon numerous factors such as:
Type of fuel, such as coal, natural gas, or uranium
Cost of preparation and processing of fuel stock, such as mining or purification processes
Availability of the fuel stock resources
Transportation costs of fuel stock to power generation centers
Operation costs of power generation station
Wear and tear and life expectancy, or life cycle, of the power generation equipment such as turbines
Cost of electrical power transmission from the generation plant to a point of use
Cost of operation and maintenance of power transmission lines
Cost of power voltage transformation
Loss of energy transformation from point to point
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Large-Scale Solar Power SystemsConstruction and Economics, pp. 37 - 70Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012