These benchmarks help measure progress toward goals for reducing solar electricity costs and guide SETO research and development programs. Read more to find out how these cost benchmarks are modeled and download the data and cost modeling program below.
The MMP results are $30.36 (residential), $40.51 (community solar), and $16.58 (utility-scale). The community solar O&M cost is higher than the O&M cost for a single-customer commercial PV system of similar configuration because of the community solar subscriber management cost, which accounts for about 40% of the total community solar O&M cost.
Our operations and maintenance (O&M) analysis breaks costs into various categories and provides total annualized O&M costs. The MSP results for PV systems (in units of 2022 real USD/kWdc/yr) are $28.78 (residential), $39.83 (community solar), and $16.12 (utility-scale).
The PV System Cost Model (PVSCM) was developed by SETO and NREL to make the cost benchmarks simpler and more transparent, while expanding to cover PV product components not previously benchmarked. PVSCM can also facilitate sensitivity analysis based on key system parameters in their intrinsic units.
This work has been developed and published by Lumen Energy Strategy, LLC in Oakland, California under commission by the California Public Utilities Commission.
You can find the California Public Utilities Commission Energy Storage Procurement Study at The study was prepared by Lumen Energy Strategy, LLC for the California Public Utilities Commission and was released on May 31, 2023.
California's energy storage ecosystem, built since Assembly Bill 2514 and through 2021, includes a crucial component: the PU's Energy Storage Procurement Framework. This framework motivates the development of both demand and supply in the energy storage marketplace.
Ancillary services in the CPUC Energy Storage Procurement Study provide grid operational flexibility and stabilization for reliable electricity delivery. CAISO ancillary services markets include non-spinning and spinning contingency reserves, and regulation up and down.
Nearly all thermal, hydrogen, and mechanical storage technologies (excluding flywheels) are suited for long-duration energy management and grid support. In contrast, electrical storage and flywheels are better suited for short-duration storage, offering services such as transient voltage regulation and frequency control in the grid .
Simulation results demonstrated that incorporating grid electricity pricing significantly improved the performance of energy storage components, reduced the operational time of fuel cells and electrolyzers, and minimized SOC fluctuations.
Hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs) address these challenges by leveraging the complementary advantages of different ESSs, thereby improving both energy- and power-oriented performance while ensuring the safe and efficient operation of storage components.
As the installed capacity of renewable energy continues to grow, energy storage systems (ESSs) play a vital role in integrating intermittent energy sources and maintaining grid stability and reliability. However, individual ESS technologies face inherent limitations in energy and power density, response time, round-trip efficiency, and lifespan.
Hoang and Yue et al. 20, 21 studied the importance of combining battery energy storage system with solar photovoltaic system in hydrogen energy production and this integration can improve the economy and efficiency of the system, enabling efficient conversion from solar to hydrogen energy.
Abdulrhman 29 et al. simulated grid-connected PV and PV with cells configurations and found that grid-connected PV systems are more viable at industrial electricity prices, with a levelized energy cost of $0.016/kWh, a net present value of $4233,274, a return on investment of 426.5%, and a payback period of 4.7 years.
However, none of the existing energy storage technology can perfectly satisfy the operational requirements in different scenarios. Therefore, a hybrid energy storage system (HESS) including heterogenous and supplementary energy storage technologies is proposed to effectively enhance the regulated capability and reliability.
Energy storage has become an increasingly common component of utility-scale solar energy systems in the United States. Much of NLR's analysis for this market segment focuses on the grid impacts of solar-plus-storage systems, though costs and benefits are also frequently considered.
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