Frequently Asked Questions

What costs are included in the calculations?

Users can specify assumptions about capital expenditure (CAPEX), fuel costs, fixed operating and maintenance costs (fixed O&M), non-fuel operating costs, the costs of debt and equity financing, and environmental or other cost adders. Future versions of the tools will allow for the inclusion of various financial costs, including depreciation, interest during construction, and taxes.

How is the internal rate of return (IRR) calculated?

The IRR is calculated using the Newton-Raphson method in calculus. For more information, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_method.

Is LCOE-z available for public use?

Yes, please contact DHInfrastructure for pricing at lcoe-z@dhinfrastructure.com

What features do you expect to roll out in the future?

We will be rolling out additional features which include the ability to:

Calculate system-wide LCoEs for an entire portfolio of plants coming into operation at different times
Include financial charges such as tax, depreciation, and interest during construction

We are also planning an integration with our dispatch simulation model (SyDIS). SyDIS simulates the way power plants are dispatched in an electricity system to meet demand. The model takes assumptions about hourly demand, and the power plants that are available to serve that demand, and forecasts it on an hourly basis for as many years as the user specifies. SyDIS outputs can be used to determine the capacity factors of plants in LCoE-z.